Cleaning. It was one thing the demon did at nice broken up pace throughout the week to keep himself more or less calm and also to well have a somewhat clean house in case someone decided to come in to do maintenance while he was out and about. He kept his space clean enough to make it presentable and typically that was okay; however, today just good enough was not good at all. Today the house had to be spotless….well as spotless as the demon can get it and why was that one may ask?

Well, he wasn’t sure how it happened, but somehow despite how things went on the first date, he and Sharaku did indeed keep up with one another chatting over the chat client when they couldn’t be face-to-face. It was in one these sessions that they had gotten into a conversation over things to do with each other and this suggestion of sleepovers came up. At first it was a joking matter, but then somehow became an actual invite to do it for real. The demon didn’t understand how that happened or why he did what he did sometimes, but even more amazing than that was that Sharaku actually agreed to the thing. Now don’t get him wrong. He understood they were dating and that this was potentially going to happen one way or another. The thing that shocked him the most was that after the first date, he was surprised the other was willing to take a step into an area more private After all what could happen inside of one’s home vs. outside was very different.

Even with that there, the demon had been happy the night before when they agreed to the matter, but then when morning came he was happiness became “Oh shit! Need to do these things!” Yeah waking up to full blown panic was nothing new and it gave the demon the rush he needed to go to the store first of all (cause hey can’t have a sleepover without food). He didn’t buy a ton of things just sort of restocked on some things he kind of needed and added a random thing or two in there cause why not. In any case, after going to the store lugging the stuff upstairs and getting that all settled Rika had changed out of his clothing and placed on a night gown (yes a long night grown that was black with pretty flowers on it) and a scarf for his hair. From there? Well he had been busting his ass to make sure every part of the apartment. It wasn’t that much to clean honestly.

A small kitchen, a dining/living area, one bedroom, and a bath. Not much at all, but the demon went a little over board to make the kitchen clean and of course to make that damn toliet and tub shine. Oh yes, he cleaned alright and after the house was in order, he got himself ready. During this whole process. His eyes would flick to the various clocks around the house to make sure he was on good time. Sharaku would be here at 1:00...and provided the guy since of time was like his own then he’d either be there either early or right on the dot.

Either way Rika kept moving about, making sure to spray the house down with Frebreeze to kill the scent of cleaning products. They didn’t smell bad, but still one scent was better than multiple ones. With that quite done, he’d put away the things he had used before narrowing his eyes at the trashcan...man….he thought he got everything.

Shaking his head, he’d drift over to it and get the trashbag out and after a bit of fighting with it tied it up and headed towards the door. He would slip on his flip flops a pair of black v’s with a red very pretty and small reddish pink flower on them. Hiding only his wings from the world, the demon would go outside dressed in only a pair of black pants and said shoes. His horns were exposed yes, but honestly they looked like some odd hair piece rather than something suspicious. He would head out into the open air walk ways, feeling the breeze against the bare skin of his chest, the small fang pendant on his choker shifting a bit as he moved. Honestly if anyone saw him, it would look like he was in the middle of getting ready for work or to go out somewhere and decided to slip on his girlfriend’s flip flops to take out the trash. And you know what he looked damn good doing it, carrying himself with confidence as he gave the peeping girl across the hall a light nod as she stuck her head out the door the moment she heard or saw (honestly he didn’t know) him open his door.

As she got a look at him, he would give her a friendly smile that only caused he to turn redder than Mars before she ducked back inside quickly. Heh. He wondered when she would get the guts to actually say something to him. Ah well.

Pushing that small matter aside, he would take the trash to the dumpster before turning back around to go back upstairs. Okay everything was taken care of and he was in good time. Right nothing to worry about.

Random Side Note:

He is currently making his way across the parking lot and is not back inside yet.

That happened. However, as odd and maybe unbelievable it may have sounded, but Sharaku honestly didn’t see it as that big of a deal. Frankly, what’s so super private about staying a night over at someone’s place? If it was such an intimate thing to do that, it wouldn’t be something that friends casually do. It’s not like they were about to have a honeymoon night or such. Nothing out of ordinary needed to happen unless they decided to have it be that way. Besides, he didn’t really believe a planned one night sleepover showed anything accurate. And technically, Rika was even proving his assumptions by going out of his way to make everything sparkly at his place. Who even has a spotless apartment all the time normally? Yeah, probably not a thing, so really, something like this hardly reflects a lot of reality, and doubly so when the person inviting tries to make sure everything seems perfect. He would have just said that the guy was stressing for naught, had he known the demon had gone out of his way to do crazy cleaning, shopping and all that. Gee, who really cares? Not that the effort isn’t appreciated at all, but honestly, it’s not like he even thought that the guy would be perfect in the first place, because no one can be 100% of the time. As long as he wouldn’t be like…stepping into dust bunnies and dirt every inch, he wouldn’t complain much.

Arrangements aside, he was pretty calm about the matter himself. Sure, there was a chance he would tire of having non-stop company he couldn’t just tell to gtfo and all that, but it was too early to try and predict some sort of doom happening. As long as they didn’t do something stupid, it would likely go fine enough. He could usually handle that much social interaction at once at least. Plus, he supposed they would actually sleep at night, though guess that he couldn’t know whether the demon wouldn’t find some way to keep him up by bringing up late night activities. Frankly, he had no idea what the guy had available at his place as means of entertainment. He supposed he would find out in time…

Regardless, the demon was sure right about the timing. In fact, he tended to typically be early, even if only by a little bit. Unless he lost track of time and ended up having to hurry to even get to the needed place on time, he would rather head out earlier to make sure he wouldn’t be late even if something happened along the way last minute. Which in this case could perhaps be him getting lost, as he was seeking a place he hasn’t been to before. After all, it was his first time having to find Rika’s living place. There is no way he would wait until last minute to move out, because he would definitely not get there on time were he to do that. Of course, luck would have it that he would just be early instead but eh. It wasn’t like an hour early, which would have been a little disruptive. It was only…nearly 15 minutes or so? Kind of similar to what happened when they went out last time. Perhaps he should make that his staple.

That said, his timing would mean that he would actually still catch the guy outside. Well, he almost didn’t to be honest, but a guy with horns is pretty hard to miss for too long. He would raise an eyebrow to himself, wondering why was the demon outside at this time, but wouldn’t waste much time on it, as he actually needed to pick up his pace to catch up with the guy before he just ended up with a door in his face and having to knock on it as he normally would have. It would certainly be easy not to since he had the option to avoid that. ‘’Were you taking a walk before waiting for me?’’, he would ask with mild amusement when he was close enough to grab the other’s attention properly. And yes, he did notice how the guy was dressed, but it wasn’t high up in his mind just yet.

Speaking of being dressed:

I somehow always manage to not include this in the post so....

He's wearing a silver sleeveless jacket (no zipper or stuff tho, so he's kinda just wearing it hanging open) Reference (just for the color so you don't have to imagine what kind of silver) --- > Clickity

He also has dark purple pants, is wearing black sunglasses (currently propped up on top of his head more or less) and different earrings for once, because gotta keep the color theme lol Something like this ---> Clicky 2

I think that is mostly it, but if I missed something you find important, feel free to ask.

Perhaps it was insanity that played a part in what the demon did or maybe it was a bit of self-consciousness that caused him to do what he did, but at the same time his actions were two folded. On one hand it did seem that he was stressing out over everything and making sure everything was perfect, but on the other perhaps that wasn’t the full story. You see he did need to go shopping and what he bought wasn’t necessarily far from what he usually bought....okay those two piece of cheesecake were yes, but he wanted the cheesecake so sue him! Anyway, he needed to do food shopping since his pantry and fridge were looking kind of bare. Even if it wasn’t for company, he would’ve been a sad camper anyway due to lack of stuff to eat.

As for his home….well, chores needed to be done and while he could’ve just picked up everything and hid it somewhere, he decided to be good and actually fold the clothes on the floor and organize stuff that wasn’t organized before. He did live in a state of semi-chaos, but honestly he didn’t think anyone should walk into clothes on the floor, an unmade bed, or that odd food smell that didn’t really bother him, but was just odd to have around normally. So he started to clean and well he figured if he was going to do it, he might as well go all the way. Besides with it all done that meant he could actually chill and not worry about the chores for a while, so win-win in his head.

Speaking of in his head. You know, he could choose the most random moments not to be focused on things. For example, the morning started chaotic with his mind wandering about in its usual swirls of "what ifs" and such, but about time he went outside to take the trash out, the demon was relatively calm and actually felt quite proud of himself. Look at that! His house was clean, the weather was gorgeous, and now he could actually focus on just relaxing. Yup today would indeed be great!

The demon was a bit giddy of the prospect of simply relaxing, so much so that he almost forgot he was expecting a guest. So when Sharaku arrived, the demon had become a bit distracted by things around him namely that red cardinal that just flew by causing his attention to be directed a bit to the side as he walked. So while he was paying attention to the bird, he didn’t exactly pay full attention to the sound of footsteps coming towards him. Yes some part of his mind did take them into account, but the pace of the steps didn’t seem threatening, so he didn’t pay sound full attention until he actually heard a voice that snapped him out of his musing.

Pausing in his walking, he would blink and look in the direction of the sound at first looking a bit lost before he spotted the other and after registering that yes the other was indeed there and had spoken to him, the demon would give the other a sheepish smile in return as lips parted. His brain finally caught up with things.

“Nah. I am not that dedicated to working out. Just was taking out the trash,” he would say and then settling easily into a relaxed smile, he would gesture for the other to follow him before he started walking again. “Anyway, it is good to see ya. Was it hard getting here? I was unsure if my directions were clear or not,” the demon would say his behavior very laid back in comparison to the way the other had seen him before. Perhaps it was the fact they were on Rika’s turf that this happened or maybe he was relaxed because despite the whole date thing or any wandering thoughts of what could happen behind closed the doors, in the end Rika viewed this event as two friends just hanging out and one happened to stay over. Did he plan anything fancy? Nope outside of cleaning, he honestly was just gonna let things go where they would go this round. No over thinking or worries...or at least that is what he was gonna try to do. Last time, he let it get out of hand, but this time? This time he was gonna start by stopping that planning train right there. That train always seemed to be a bad thing.

Acknowledging, but not letting the panic control him, the demon would continue his walk leading the way up the small flight of stairs and then a second flight to get to his apartment on the second floor that was literally a few steps away from the stairs themselves.

Reaching out for the doorknob he push it open, before moving to the side a bit to let the other in. “Well come on in and make yourself at home,” he would say with a warm, genuine smile before waiting for the other to come in to close the door….

Random Stuff:

The Shoes: Here. Just imagine that flower on the shoe as a pretty shade of violet red. His are toes painted in the alternate colors as follows: 1st turquoise, then black, then turquoise, then black, etc. His finger nails are still the same turquoise as before. As for jewelry he is wearing something like this. Except the pendant piece is a tad bit more curved.

If you want the details of the apartment just ask I can put them up or tell ya.

He would tilt his head slightly when the guy took note of him and produced a response. ‘’Pretty sure I simply said taking a walk. Wasn’t trying to imply a full out work out. Or do you see a casual walk as part of working out?’’ Well, some people maybe did? Though it would have to be some rigorous walking to actually substitute for other forms of working out. Plus really, why would he think someone was working out when they were out in flip flops for heaven’s sake. That’s just about as practical as trying to swim in armor. Anyway, nevermind the semantics for now. ‘’I managed. That’s what matters the most I suppose.’’, he would answer as he moved to follow the guy. It hadn’t been the worst, since he didn’t get lost hard or something like that. And that was an accomplishment because he could be a little bad at following directions at times. Luckily enough, that didn’t end up being a huge issue this time around.

That said, unless the other made some other conversation, he would just follow in silence until they reached their destination, not finding any reason to speak just because for the moment. Sure there were things he could bring up based on what his mind was randomly picking up on, but he honestly didn’t feel like making conversation he would likely not feel inclined to keep up with after the first exchange or two depending on where it went. Some things are better not said at times. Either way, once he’d get past the door and inside, he would more or less stop for the time being, waiting for the demon to get in too, and for anything that might need to be said there or such….

“I know what you said. As for your question, when you ask for if I was taking a walk, yes my mind auto fell into the casual walks that people do daily or on some schedule to work out. As for walking itself, I do see it as a form of exercise regardless if it is part of work out routine or just that random I want to go for a walk thing. It’s just I don’t necessarily call it a work out if I am enjoying it,” the demon would respond with an easy smile and then thinking a bit would look over at Sharaku. “Speaking of that, how did you get here? Did you drive?” He didn’t see any unfamiliar cars, but then again he might’ve not been able to spot it considering he was zoned out a bit and not fully paying attention. Even so, he was still curious because despite before he still didn’t know exactly where Sharaku lived within the city. For all he knew the guy could’ve come a good distance or maybe even a very short one that he could just walk instead. Hmm..maybe if the opportunity presented itself, he would ask the other about that.

“Well that is good. I’d be a little sad if you had gotten lost,” the demon said, his tone remaining light hearted. While it was true that if that did occur the guy could always call him to get unstuck so there was no real reason to be worried, he was still happy that the guy was able to find him easily enough. He wondered if it was flipped around if he would have the same luck. Hmm, it’d be a curious thing to test, but a thought for another time. In any case, it seemed that they had somehow managed to fall in a mini silence as they crossed the parking lot scattered about with cars and headed towards the stairs. They would go up and after getting the apartment, the demon would let the other in, the first thing greeting the man outside of a light scent of just cleaned apartment would be a more or less cleaned kitchen/dining room/living room area.

To the immediate right, there was the small kitchen equipped with cabinets, a Kruieg maker, a stove, dishwasher, sink and refigator. Much like the entrance way’s floors the kitchen floors looked to be made out of wood though look a little to the left and all around and the rest of the place seemed to be carpet. Slightly to the left of the kitchen sat the wooden table and chair set with neatly stacked notebooks to one side, an old fashion radio, some coloring pencils, a sake set, and a cat salt and pepper shaker. Most of these things were pushed to the side in a neat order with a small webook currently closed sitting in front of the seat that perhaps the demon favored most. There was a jacket on the back of this particular chair and another on a chair next to it. To the left was the living room with a comfy looking sofa resting against the wall next to a small table that was close by the door. In the far corner was a lamp that was currently off. Along the shorter wall was a strange silver trunk that was probably used for storage, but was currently acting as a table for a green viny plant that flopped happily out of its pot as it enjoyed the sun light coming in through the windows. A little past that was a small floor fan and then on the opposite wall a door that probably led out to the washing machine/dryer and a porch. Along the furthest wall sat a simple entertainment with a nice size flat screen on it that head resting in front of it in a neat little line 3 Zelda figurines and off to the side of the tv a Playstation control rested. In the three cubbies below the TV there could be found a Wii U and its game pad, a Blue Ray/DVD player and finally the Playstation 4 and an internet browser sharing a space.

The TV was currently on some random channel that seemed to be playing a nature show of a sort on low volume. Past the TV and directly in front of the guy would be the bedroom that revealed a bed and a nightstand and perhaps a window off to the side, but nothing more from the spot at the door. Though if one were to wander in there they’d find a window, large and small chest of drawers and also the door that led into the bathroom and a closet much larger than the one by the front door. The apartment was tidy alright and honestly walking into a clean house put the demon at ease.

Not bothered by the silence he would work on closing and locking the door making sure before he did the latter that his keys were not left in the door. Once that was squared away, he would take off his shoes before brushing past the other and stepping on the carpet. Drifting to the living room, he would stand by his sofa as his eyes remained on the other with a smile in place.

“You don’t have to stand there ya know. You’re free to go where you want in this small space. When I said make yourself at home I meant just that. You don’t have to ask to use the bathroom or use stuff in the kitchen. My only rule here is that you respect my stuff and we’ll get along just fine. If you want you can set your stuff in the bedroom since that is where you’ll be sleeping anyway,” the demon said before pausing as a movement from his bedroom door caught his eye. If one was to look an elegant dark grey cat with bright green eyes would be in the appear in the doorway and stretch, the tail flicking a bit as the animal enjoyed its stretch and then relaxing, the cat would look over at Rika first causing the demon the smile at the Russian Blue that was his roommate.

“Oh hey Mimy (pronounced Me My), have you come out to introduce yourself?” he would ask the cat as she gave him a slow blink before looking over at the taller male in the door way. The bell on her red collar never moved as she studied him a bit sitting down in the door way, but not moving to come out as she simply watched for now.

Rika would shake his head and look back at the other.

“My kid, Andromeda. She is a bit shy at times, but a sweetheart nonetheless. Anyway, go on and get yourself settled. I’ll wait,” he said and then when any conversation or what have you ended, he would look back at the TV, his eyes narrowing a bit as he took in some scene of monkeys traveling across a field of some sort...

‘’I would probably not bother calling a walk an exercise for real. I mean, unless you walk for half a day at a time, it’s not like it really helps you get muscles or lose weight, whichever your aim in working out would be. If it had an actual impact, everyone would be buff, because we have to walk if we want to do pretty much anything.’’ You can’t manage to stay alive by only sitting on your butt 24/7 after all. And even an extended walk because you felt like it doesn’t have a huge effect, he’d say. Life would be easy if you could take a walk, call it a worthwhile exercise and feel good about yourself for it. Well, maybe if it was a really quick walk, but that’s something you can’t even do properly everywhere, and it might just be better to plan for some running at that point. Though why were they getting into a discussion about something as random as that was anyone’s question. Maybe that would always be a thing for them. ‘’No. I’m not the biggest fan of cars. I took the bus and then some walking.’’ He didn’t even really have one. He knew how to drive, but he did not bother getting his own car ever since he moved away from his parents. He just wasn’t really interested. If anything, he’d sooner get a bike like Rika had or such. Outside of that, he typically didn’t mind walking or just using public transport in case he needed to go further away. Which wasn’t even truly often anyway.

‘’I like to believe I’m not that blind.’’ Though it was true that finding the way can be somewhat tough when one isn’t entirely familiar with the area. Oh well though. He didn’t think he had been here before, but he did recognize certain stuff fairly nearby, so it might be that he had just never gone in this exact direction before. After all, he had no reason to examine apartment blocks and the like, unless they were really near some shopping mall or such, and happened to be on/in the way. At any rate, time to move on and actually get inside. As nice as the fresh air was, the plan didn’t involve them standing outside for the majority of the day. At least he didn’t think so.

Once they got in…well, it wasn’t that he was standing around because he though he couldn’t move, but he would think it would still be somewhat rude to just take off immediately and stick his nose into everything in his sight. This was a first time visit after all, and he didn’t see the point of going out of his way to be too hard to handle for the other. There was no reason to hop around like an overactive bunny. That, and he wasn’t the type anyway. He didn’t see the act of looking everywhere as super interesting for the most part. If there was something good to see, the demon would likely take it upon himself to show him, right? It’s much easier and less messy that way.

Speaking of seeing, he would cast the inside a brief look-over, but not much besides that. It’s not like the place was abnormal in any way, so there was no reason for him to gawk too much. He would raise an eyebrow at the other slightly. ‘’I’m getting sued for taking a moment to move now?’’ He seemed to be more or less joking there, although he did slightly wonder if the guy actually expected him to just run around immediately. Mentally shaking his thoughts away for the time being however, he would almost make a move to follow what the demon did before, but would get distracted by the new appearance. Okay? He would kind of just blink as he glanced at the cat, but not go out of his way to say anything yet. Sometimes, he wasn’t sure how to take cats when meeting them, because it was hard to guess how exactly would they choose to treat him. Well, at least this one seemed to be calm so far, but he could never know.

Ironically though, to get where he was told to, he would have to pass by it, so there wasn’t much he could do about that. Still, he would do just that, deciding to just take whatever came out of it when it did. Outside of whatever may have happened there, he wouldn’t take long at all, since he didn’t pack half his belongings with him, and would really just need to put his bag down for the time being. Once he was done doing that, and if nothing got in his way, he would walk back out to the other, glancing at the TV briefly. He was a little distracted though, sighing faintly as he tugged at his jacket. It wasn’t a thick one or anything like that, but the weather was definitely not the same on the inside as the outside. And even outside, it wasn't too cold these days. ‘’When did it get so hot? The weather used to be much cooler not that long ago…’’, he would mutter under his breath as he proceeded to pull the piece of clothing off entirely. That would leave him in the same condition as the demon, but well, if Rika could walk around half naked, so could he. It probably didn’t matter, unless the guy happened to have an issue with it for whatever reason….

Rika would chuckle lightly. "Well I suppose it comes down to what you consider exercise. Alot believe an hour of doing this or that is exercise. Others believe movement in general is exercise. I don’t really think time frame or end results matter unless you are like trying to get buff. Most do the lighter stuff more so for their own happiness I think, so they spend the time they think is needed for it to get there. Or at least I think that is part of it. I don’t really think exercise has a defined definition outside of moving, so it is what is to each person in my opinion.” For some a run as exercise, for others it was yoga, and others a walk. It honestly depended on the person and what they translated the word into in the end.

That aside the conversation would move to public transportation. To what was said the demon would tilt his head slightly at the other. “I suppose for us it was either foot, horse, cart, car, or bike. I think public transport wise the cart is the most I’ve done. I’ve ridden a bus, but not too fond of that and I avoid cabs if I can just carpool with someone or rent a car. Personally wise, I prefer bike or horse though. I can do some walking to since I don’t mind the stretch either.” Heh interesting how simple things could spark him to talk more and other things could shut him down. Well rather that was him rattling off at the mouth or not he supposed it didn’t matter too much in the end since they were talking about traveling in general. Wherever that went it would go as the demon went from being slightly talkative to quiet as he heard the next response.

“Mmm,” was the light and amused hum the guy would get in return to his short response. Yeah...directions. Rika could say he could get around to places he memorized, but if he didn’t go to them a ton he often times could not remember where places were. He’d always get turned around and what not so he had the tendency to use GPS for new places until he felt comfortable enough with going there to be alright without it, but the chances of him getting turned around with GPS or not was always there. Always it was a stressful ride or adventure when it came to him and getting some place new thus he left way early leaving some to wonder why. Story of his life at times, but it what it was and is.

Speaking of directions though, it seemed that the two males would move from being outside to being inside. Back in the air conditioned air, Rika would chuckle lightly at the comment received when he had spoken to the other about standing in the door.

“Well no, but unless you prefer close encounters,” he would actually step close to the other and hug him from behind holding him a bit as he leaned his head against him. “Then I suggest you get out of the way. Besides,” he would say softly as he attempted to hold him a bit longer before releasing him and move past him to get further into the apartment. “That can cause a collision. Not that I mind, but still being in the doorway like that is a bit of a hazard.” He would look back over his shoulder and stick his tongue out at the other briefly showing he was playing for the most part. He honestly wasn’t mad about the ordeal, but it was a tad bit of a peeve to have someone in the pathway, but maybe that was just him. That moment aside, things would become calmer as the demon laid out his rules and then gave the other time to put his stuff away.

Or rather he watched them, despite being slightly distracted by the TV, he did take note out of the corner of his eye the stare off between cat and man. Not making it obvious, he would watch as Andromeda kept her eyes on the other unblinking for the moment. She was quiet not doing anything to suggest she would harm as she kept watching the other at the door. It was a bit odd, but maybe the fact that she wasn’t running was good? It was kind of impressive she had even came out and stayed this long. Huh...he wonder, could she sense the difference on Sharaku as she could on him when they first met? Hmm...curious, but then again cats were always a mystery so who knew?

Regardless as long as no attacking was happening, Rika would let the pair deal with each other as the other decided to make his move….and for the most part there was nothing to worry about. As the man went forward, Rika shifted his wait to settle in a cross legged position on the floor before the TV around the time Andromeda blinked and then standing angled herself so she easily walked passed the taller male in a quiet and confident manner as her tail lifted as she came over to and made herself comfortable in his lap.

Rika would smile a bit as he look down at the cat and petted her gently. Such a sweet baby. He keep his attention on the cat for the short moment that it took Sharaku to place his stuff down and come back. When the other decided to take off his jacket, Rika did give his body an appreciative glance, but there was nothing in his gaze that suggested he was getting unnecessarily turned on by it. It was more like an artist taking a quiet glance at a piece of work he enjoyed. Gentle, but not super intrusive...unless the other had issues with being stared at for a bit. Regardless, the demon would make no protest against this, his issues with bodies pretty much non-existence - a fact that would become apparent if the guy hung around long enough for him to ask him to go to a bath house, spring, or maybe something more immediate catching him in the nude around his own place.

To be honest the demon didn’t like clothing and when he was at home, he didn’t hesitate to keep them off or wear the bear minimum. Outside he did dress a bit more, but even then his layers were as little as possible even when it was cold outside. Even so despite his preferences, he had respect for his guest and so at least put on pants, but unfortunately didn’t get to the shirt. Still it didn’t seem the other cared much for it so woot there. Anyway….

“I dunno. This weather can be a bit bizarre around the spring shift. Seems like it just can’t make up its mind sometimes,” he would say in response and then lifting one hand, he’d point to closet by the door. “You should be able to find a hanger wedge in there between the windbreaker, and leopard collared jacket if you wanna hang yours up,” he would say before falling silent for a bit, his eyes returning to the TV until the other settled in.

He would just shrug faintly. ‘’Well, I’d call a walk simply a walk. I see no point in renaming it to exercise if there is no solid reason for it. Calling everything and anything exercise doesn’t do anything outside of making it sound better and more important than it in some cases actually is. Mainly when you have no idea what the person even means by it.’’ It could be pretty misleading in some cases. One person could call heavy working out exercise, so you come to associate it with actually tiring activities, and then someone else goes and calls a 10 minute walk exercise without telling you what they are referring to…well, wouldn’t you accidentally get the wrong impression sometimes? Loose definitions can be hell at times, mainly when people don’t bother to tell you what exactly they mean by their words.

‘’I just try to not overcomplicate it. The bus won’t bite my head off, and honestly, why would I do something like renting a car for a 30 minute ride or something? I call that a waste of energy and money. There’s literally no point in doing that if I can get to my destination by using simpler ways. While I like certain ways more than others, at the end of the day, it’s more about what gets the job done without wasting my time and resources too much. Within the town, I have no reason to go for anything outside of walking or a bus, considering that I don’t currently own any vehicle. Cabs and stuff are way too expensive for what they offer making them good only when you’re in a real hurry to get somewhere, and a horse just isn’t happening unless you’re somewhere out in the country-side. Not that I ever had a chance of learning how to ride one anyway.’’ He saw no point in being overly picky, outside of maybe when it came to long distance travels, where several options were more or less equally viable. In that case, yes, he would probably pick the one he liked the most if he could, but how often did he really travel far enough from this place anyway? Hardly ever these days, so it wasn’t even something he thought about much. Besides, for really long distance, he would actually just prefer plane or train most likely. None of which was being mentioned at all right now.

Getting places…well, it was a little tough when it was one he’s never been to before, or a place that was kind of hidden and not so easy to stumble upon. However, as loopy as his memory could be at times, he could remember routes he had already taken before pretty well. It was kind of like unconsciously taking note of where he had turned right and where left the last time, and even if he hadn’t made perfectly sure to note things down, he would probably be able to guess where to go pretty well when he visited next time. Not always, but in general, he did decently well in that department. The first times were always the worst ones. As for GPS…well, he used it when he was really unsure of where was he meant to go even after having looked up his destination on a map or such, but he tried to not rely on it often. It could be faulty too sometimes, so he tried to not make it his first go to unless he was completely lost to begin with or didn’t have the time to try and figure out the route by different means.

In any case…the inside. He would blink when the other suddenly chose to come super close and attach himself to him. Despite the slight surprise moment though, he wouldn’t protest it. ‘’Are you…trying to threaten me with hugs?’’ Well, how knew, but it almost sounded like it, that was for sure. He would snort lightly. ‘’I would recommend you to get a new pair of glasses then, so you can see that something is in your way.’’ Two could play that game. ‘’Also, considering that you can get past me as I am, I’m obviously not blocking your way completely in the first place.’’ He wasn’t an unavoidable obstacle, was he now? He wasn’t aiming to prevent the guy from getting in anyway, so that was that.

Regardless of the little mishaps, a small chapter of silence came afterwards as he focused on putting stuff away and all that. Thankfully enough, he didn’t seem to have extra kitty problems on board to deal with for now, which was a good thing, and thus everything would pass by fairly smoothly until some sort of conversation picked up again. Kind of. He was unsure whether talking about the weather was even much of a conversation, really. Then there was the staring…which well, was a somewhat tricky subject. He didn’t necessarily mind it per se, but it was a somewhat of an odd subject nevertheless. While the two of them sure had some common ground when it came to how they viewed matters of this kind, there were a couple differences as well. It couldn’t be said that he had ’issues’ with the stuff, because he didn’t exactly, but whether they would see eye to eye on it all completely was questionable.

At first, he would kind of just stare right back, giving the guy a slightly raised eyebrow for a moment. What was going on in his mind was uncertain for the time being, and regardless of where that initial exchange would lead, he would eventually just glance away with a mild frown. He didn’t really seem to be mad or anything despite that though, as he simply moved on to deal with the things that were being said instead. ‘’Well, isn’t that beautiful?’’, he would roll his eyes slightly at the mention of unstable weather before moving over the put the extra piece of clothing away for now. When he did come back, he would he would sort of go back to standing beside the other as he crossed his arms over his chest. Well, now what…?

“Heh. Well, I suppose everyone has different labels for different reason. What is a walk for one person may be classified as exercise for another. It honestly depends on the point of view, so I honestly don’t see an issue with calling it either. The action is the same it is just the meaning that changes a bit with a label.” Was it really misleading or was it just a matter of perspective? The demon would say the latter, but unlike the other he didn’t have an issue with a walk being labeled as exercise or lose meanings. He was alright with the vagueness and didn’t rebel too much against the idea that not everything could be specifically defined. It was just a part of life to him so as long as said vagueness wasn’t doing too much harm or confusing it was okay. It was one thing he did not think too hard on.

Moving on from there though the demon would let out an amused “hmph!” to what he heard next. “I don’t think I complicate things with my choices. I just prefer to take my own vehicle over public transportation unless it is a long trip. Then a plane would be fine. As for cabs, never felt the need to deal with them unless in a jam where I could not walk or drive myself. Rentals on the other hand are for stays way longer than 30 minutes. That is like if I want to stay somewhere for a week or two and didn’t wish to rely on public transportation. If something is 30 minutes away, trust me I find I another way. As for horses, that is true. It does depend on the location or even world.” He understood the differences between worlds and wasn’t as free-spending as one would assume from his comment. He was in the boat of getting to point B in a timely, affordable (if he had to pay) way as possible. Typically, his bike or his own two feet got him to where he needed to be, so rentals, public transportation, was rare for him. He preferred to just get there using his own methods. Though…. "Since you mentioned not having a ride of your own, have you considered getting one?” He was curious to know if this was a preference thing or something more that stopped the other from getting a personal vehicle and had him relying on public transportation instead.

Regardless where that would go, it seem things would become quiet as short answers and sounds died off until the pair got upstairs and into the apartment that is. The first conversation that happened was an odd that started because the other decided not to go all the way end. While Rika did hug the other, he took note that this time around, the other wasn’t tensing or giving off any vibes of resistance. Oho? Well that was a nice change up and made the hugging that much easier for the demon to do.

As he was still holding him, he heard the question posed. “Is that threat not enough to get you to move further in?” the demon would tease lightly before letting him go a while later and moving. “But seriously, I just felt like hugging ya since you were within easy reach as for glasses,” he would chuckle and shake his head. “I’ve never had the need for them, so I don’t think I will start needing them just because you are in the way. I just have to pay more attention if you are going make a habit of stopping in front of me like that,” he would say and then hearing the other part, he would smile faintly. “Always a counter,” he would say gently not seeming mad by the matter before he blinked and continued. “But no you are not in the way per-se, but still the extra work is a bit of a chore ya know?” he would say giving the other a light wink as he remained chilled, relaxed, and slightly playful. It seemed that unlike the other encounters, there was no signs of nerves, anxiety, or cockiness. The demon was just being him. Though how well this would go in the end despite that was another matter entirely.

Not thinking too much about the what ifs, Rika would in time move to relax by the sofa as he gave the other time to settle in. When it came to the staring matter, the cat would watch the pai watch each other, the demon remaining rather calm while the man perhaps a bit confused or bothered? It was hard to say what it was, but Rika did take in his reactions and when the other did move to put his jacket away, the demon would turn his eyes back to the TV for the moment until the other came back over to him and decided to stand by him rather than sit down.

To his comment, the demon would respond back easily enough as he watched the fish the show was talking about move across the screen. “It can be if or it can be a pain in the butt depending on how you view unpredictable weather patterns,” he would say and then pausing he would glance up at the other, a small smirk on his lips. “Am I going to have to prop myself up in some form of position to keep from craning my neck so much to see your face?” he would begin before shifting slightly so as not to disturb the cat as he reach back and patted the sofa. “Sit. I assure you it is a very comfortable couch,” he would say, the words gentle rather than a command. Honestly, the guy could do what he wanted, but it would be a bit of an awkward affair to if he had to contend with constantly looking up at him.

Whatever, the other choose to do though the demon would roll with it being quiet for a moment. The demon didn’t have a plan of what to do with the other so he decided to roll with whatever came their way and for now it seemed a particular matter would come to him asking to be addressed. So instead of denying it, the demon would mentally nod at it before parting his lips to speak, his eyes directed at the TV as he did so.

“Neh, Sharaku? Did my staring make you uncomfortable?” he would ask in calm tones.

‘’To understand another though, you do need to know the meaning of what they say, do you not? I just mean that things like that can cause misunderstandings which could easily be avoided, is all.’’ Perspectives were sure great, but with how many things could already get misinterpreted, was it the best thing to do it even with the simple stuff? Well, most people would probably not actually argue over forms of exercise, but it could still cause some small errors if they did not check whether they all had the same idea when talking about it.

He would just huff faintly. ‘’If you say so. Why would you pick horses though? Relying on another being to carry you where you want can be tricky.’’ Not that it was bad or anything, but if the horse decided to nope and kick you off for whatever reason, you wouldn’t be a happy camper. Animals can have a mind of their own sometimes, and don’t always have to obey you down to a T. And if something happens to scare them on the way, have fun holding on. As for the question right after, he would give a light shrug. ‘’I know how to ride them. Used to do that before I moved here. I just never got around to getting my own since I started living on my own. I sure could, but I don’t really feel like I need it either. I don’t tend to run around a great deal. Who knows. Maybe one day.’’ He was sort of whatever on it, honestly. While it wasn’t a bad idea, he also wasn’t sure just how much would he end up using said vehicle were he to have one. He was quite used to walking the short to moderate distances, and it typically wasn’t often that he went far enough to need to bother with some sort of transport. And when he did, he wasn’t bothered by having to take a bus. Usually.

Time to get inside however, and switch transport talk to…different movement jokes? Or whatever it even was. ‘’No, I think it isn’t.’’, he would shoot right back. Should it be? Well, a hug wasn’t going to harm him, and he wasn’t going to feel compelled to move unless the demon started trying to squeeze him to death. In which case he would likely do more than just ‘move’. Theoretically speaking, that is. ‘’Should I be putting that on my ‘things to deal with’ list?’’, he would ask, somewhat jokingly when the guy stated that the hug was done simply because they had been close to each other. ‘’And good to know. It’d be rather sad if you were really that blind.’’ More than just sad, actually. Following that, he would raise an eyebrow slightly at the slight jab about ‘counters’. ‘’You’ll learn to enjoy it eventually, trust me.’’ Oh, Rika would sure have to, because he was not about to stop doing that anytime soon. ‘’You have interesting views on what is considered to be actual extra work.’’, he would state in a slightly amused tone. Did it actually take a lot to move around someone? Hmm, food for thought, maybe.

Which would quickly change to other things as the starting commenced amongst other things. Bothered maybe, but very likely not in the way the demon would guess him to be. It was not a simple matter, but hey, when was anything simple, right? He would glance at the fish on the screen very briefly when he came back, though not seeming very interested in them as he looked away to apparently study the space around him instead as he responded to the words he heard meanwhile. ‘’I was being sarcastic back then. I’m sure you can get which one I actually meant.’’ If only was it truly beautiful, but he was sure not calling it that seriously. To be honest, he was apt to use sarcasm quite a lot, so the guy would sure be hearing it here and there. ‘’Just because you ask, I am tempted to make you do exactly that.’’ Luckily though, he wouldn’t make that decision for real, and just move over to sit down instead. After all, it was more comfortable that way, and as much as he would love to play around with the guy, this was still better for now.

Past that, he would remain quiet at first, mostly just glancing around and thinking about stuff. Until he was smacked in the face with a new question. At which he would furrow his brows slightly as he looked towards the demon for once. ‘’Not quite. It’s not really you.’’ He would frown a little. He was sure he wanted to be trying to explain that first thing during their meeting, but guess life doesn’t always let you choose, now does it? ‘’Why do you do it?’’, he would ask a question of his own after a short moment of contemplation. Whatever he was getting at with that was unclear for now, but he was probably asking for a reason…?

“I’ve never seen it causing confusion before, but I can see how it could if you’re not used to something be labeled that. And yes, communication does go better when everyone is on the same page.” He supposed he could understand what the other was saying, but at the same time he was a little confused as to how this came up. For the most part people that he met understood this way of addressing walking…”So outside of it being something to talk about, did you bring this point up to illustrate this fact or because what I said actually confused you?” He would look at the other with slightly narrowed eyes trying to understand this clearly. He did not want to assume this was just random talk...after all the other did not seem to do random talk and if he was getting at something there was a point to it or reason behind it right? Or...was he just thinking too hard again. The demon was unsure, so he just let what happened there happen. At least wasn’t an open argument so this was okay, right?

Anyway, the demon would hear the huff from the other causing his smile to fade a bit as he looked over at the other wondering for two seconds if he made him mad or something; however, unlike before he did not overreact to this one. It was odd the huff, but perhaps it wasn’t anything bad since the other was still talking on the matter and didn’t seem to be getting at him for anything, so he was perhaps good...ad if not. Welp, he was sure he would find out sooner rather than later.

“Mhm. As for horses, I guess you can say I can be a bit old fashion at times. I did grow up around a lot of horse types and so typically get along with them, even more so with the domestic types. Yes it is a bit risky and can be a painful affair, but that never stopped me from getting on one. I just like riding them feeling the wind in my hair against my face and just being one with another creature. One of my favorite things to do is to ride a horse with no saddle or bridle and just lean against them and let them go wherever, trusting them not too toss me off or anything of that nature. It is a trust game and a gamble, but one that always seems to have the best end results when things go well,” he would respond back as his eyes remained looking forward and a gentle smile came to his lips as he thought of it. He used to ride horses a lot, but since moving to the city that was cut back alot. He’d have to get back out to the ranches to ride again. It would be nice.

“Ah okay. Well that is cool then,” the demon would say with a light nod. While he preferred having something to get away on if need be or just to drive to places he needed to go, he wasn’t about to push it upon another if that person had other ways they preferred over personal vehicles. It was all the preference of the individual after all.

Moving from there though….

“Aww, I guess I am gonna just have to try harder then won’t I?” the demon would say just going with the flow of whatever was happening at the moment. As he spoke, the words he would pull a mock sad face for a moment, but in the end that face would go back to being general relaxed and happy, his trade mark and easy smile returning to his lips as he continued to interact with the other. As for that question, the demon would tilt his head at this one as he placed a hand on his hip. “Well that is completely up to you. If it doesn’t bother you then yes, random hugs is a thing with me; however, if you have an issue with my ways just let me know,” he said in relaxed tones and then rolling his eyes a bit at the thought in his head, he would shake his head a bit as the smile remained on his lips. “I won’t break like last time.” He would add that on there for good measure. Though what he was saying was no lie. He needed the guy to let him know where his boundaries were otherwise, he would just do what he did without seeing it as wrong. Despite throwing that out there, there was a noticeable difference in how Rika was handling this versus what happened in the forest. He wasn’t wound up or flipping out about things unnecessarily as his body language remained relaxed and his behavior calm. Perhaps it was the fact that he was on his own turf that caused this or maybe it was something else. Whatever it was the demon was way more chilled than the last time, so perhaps this mood could last.

“I think we’d both be rather sad,” the demon would say with a light chuckle about the blind comment before his eyes narrowed slightly with amusement at what he heard next. “Oho? Well, we shall see about that.” While he was sure that he could indeed adapt, the demon could be rather stubborn when it came to people telling him he was going to learn to do this or that. After all, he determined that in the end. There was a slight rebellion there, but not to the point where it was harmful. It was more like a gentle reminder that he wasn’t going to always let things slide when it came to counters, but on the flip side he was willing to be flexible and at least try his best to adapt to the other’s ways to make it easier for them both.

That aside though.

“Heh! Stick around enough and you’ll find out exactly how long that list actually is,” the demon would say with a smirk. While it was true that it did not really take extra work to move around a person or do some other things he considered extra works, that did not change the fact that depending on mood the demon could be rather lazy and preferred his paths or doing things as easy as possible. Couldn’t always what he wanted, but he could try and make a list of minor complaints for when he didn’t get his way. Ah well, moving onto other things.

Rika would watch the screen for a bit, but the fact that he responded back showed that he was more or less focused on Sharaku rather than the TV. “Pfft. I see you and I are going to have to work on this sarcasm and response thing. Like I get what it was and I believe my answer showed we were more or less on the same page. Even so, I answered. Though I was being dry rather than sarcastic instead, so there is a thing you probably will have to learn.” He understood sarcasm more or less and while he didn’t use it himself, he did respond back at times with dryness that made him seem all too serious or taking things literally when in the end he wasn’t doing that all. An area to work on for both of them so they were clear with what the other was doing perhaps. As for that other comment…

Rika would raise his eyebrows at that one as he looked back up at the other. “Make me?" the demon would pause and chuckle at that one before continuing. "Well good luck there. I won’t exactly bow to a command or game like that,” Rika would say his tone more amused than agitated at this one. While it was true that he could be submissive in some areas, he wasn’t exactly as weak or skittish as he came off to be. Sure back in the forest he showed a huge flaw to the other, but if the other thought for two seconds that alone was the breaker for him, then he’d find the demon a lot tougher than he thought. Yes, he was flawed like any other creature, but if there was one thing he did not let fly to easily was people trying to run over him or forcing him to do anything. Sure the guy could be speaking on simply being in a position that forced him reposition himself and what not, but even then there was a limit to that sort of game for the demon. Sure he could play, but the game had to be one he enjoyed to in order for it to last.

Despite the wording, Rika wasn’t being hostile or over-reactive with what he said. No he remained as chilled as possible as he watched the other with a smirk on his face as he made his move to sit instead. There was a moment of silence before the demon broke it with his question. To what was heard, the demon would continue to watch the TV for a moment, before he blinked a bit and then tilting his head back a bit he would look up at the other taking in his expression with observant red eyes.

“No? Then why the frown and such?” he would ask his tone level and his expression calm as he left himself open to whatever would come. He wasn’t sure if this was one of those heavy subjects best not messed with, but honestly when it was the right time to get into that or not? And was it really wrong for him to be curious of such things after seeing a reaction he was unclear of? He didn’t think so, but still with his track record with the guy who knew if what he did was right or wrong anymore? Ah well, he’d just have to go with his gut in this matter.

Speaking of matters, it seemed the subject would get turned towards him as the guy asked after a moment, his reasons behind staring. To this, Rika would watch the other for a moment before blinking.

“My eyes go towards what attracts them rather that be food, a person, a piece of art whatever. On a general bases it is just a method of observing and taking in the world quietly and reflecting on what I see. For you though, you have a nice figure and while I am curious about some nicks I can see in it,” his eyes would travel to scarring he saw there for a moment before they drifted up to meet golden eyes again. “I was honestly just appreciating what I saw.” He would pause a bit as a light frown came across his face as he shifted to look back at TV and the images there. “Though...I suppose it can come off rude or uncomfortable when you don’t have that context behind it…” Despite the frown or his words, the demon was being weepy or depressed about what he did or even apologetic. He honestly didn’t think any the of what he was doing until he saw the reaction. It just reminded him not everyone would appreciate what he did or would be on the same page. He didn’t mind explaining/speaking on the matter, or even going wherever this was going now. Even if it was unclear path, he wasn’t backing away from it or making a fuss so….yay?[/color]

‘’I think I can talk about something without it being me trying to give you passive-aggressive hints or something.’’, he would toss back with a mildly raised eyebrow. Really though, were he confused to the point he needed to actually drive his point in that much, he would probably just do it in a more straightforward way rather than turning it into a sort of discussion on the topic. In this particular case, he simply decided to comment on it after how their exchange initially panned out, and it somehow lead to this talk. He typically didn’t mind these, and for as long as the other side kept humoring him, he could usually easily talk about a topic to no end, even if it was as seemingly abysmal as this one. Of course, if it did somehow start get really boring or going in circles constantly, he would drop it eventually. Nevertheless, he was often able to keep at it much longer than a lot of other people before even thinking that something was off in the situation. Figuring things out could be a nice past time.

So technically, the demon was indeed just thinking too hard on the matter, and the same seemed to be happening about the huffing as well. Honestly, not that occasional worry was that bad, seeing as it was at times warranted, but the guy would just dig his own grave and bury himself if he kept doing it over almost everything. He meant…more or less nothing by that. Nothing concrete at least. For all one knew, it could have even meant he was amused anyway, so why assume ‘mad’ as the first option would be beyond him. Not that he knew what they guy was thinking though, and since nothing was said, he wouldn’t even know. To be frank though, his expressions and all that didn’t always have to mean what they seemed at the first glance in general, so the demon would be giving himself a tough time if he spent too much of his time trying to analyze what he was supposedly seeing. He didn’t bite that hard anyway, and if he really meant he had a problem, he would eventually just come around and say it in case the other side happened to miss it. Unless it was super obvious, in which case he would perhaps stop to wonder why did it get passed over. He could be vague, but when he had a serious intention in mind, it wasn’t as bad anymore.

‘’I’ve seen horses before, but never quite had the reason to try and ride them.’’ It really sounded like something one would have to pick up as a hobby these days, since you wouldn’t find many places where that could be a legitimate mode of transport anymore. And well, despite the fact that he tended to get along with animals well in general, he kind of never saw a reason to come around to do that. He didn’t think it would be extra hard to do, but nothing ever prompted him to go out of his way in that manner. He had never lived in a place that had horses there at random, or people who actually practiced riding, thus the idea didn’t have much chance to cross his mind in the first place.

Moving on past all the vehicle talks though…

‘’If you dare.’’ Hmmm, what could the guy do to try harder anyway? Well, as long as it didn’t harm him, he could deal with whatever it was, right? He would almost sigh at where things went next, but then choose to veer off to just closing his eyes for a moment instead. He did not want to turn this into a discussion it didn’t need to be right there and then, so best not give the guy another reason to overthink what was happening and why. As much as he was willing to go through talks when something important enough came up, they have already butted heads on this one in a sense, and he did not think there was any need to step into that territory again right now. Not when technically, nothing was going wrong to begin with, seeing as they had been simply joking around for the duration of this conversation. Or so he had thought, though he wasn’t completely sure now that the demon decided to see it fit to toss out reminders, as that was sort of a nice way to risk killing the original atmosphere. Don’t try to hint fixing what doesn’t seem broken at the moment or something? Unless you have a good enough suspicion that something is amiss, but he didn’t think there was…? He had honestly not even been thinking about the whole ‘who actually likes hugs more’ issue at all when he made that comment, or at the very least, not for any other reason than to simply make a joke about it in passing, so all Rika did was drag it into the spotlight again, in a way. For a brief moment after, he gave the guy a ‘what’ look, but then just shrug lightly. ‘’I was just making a joke. Let’s not make this what it was never meant to be.’’ He didn’t want to go and comment on the whole breaking thing and whatnot, because sparking a talk about this whole matter in that manner was not what he had in mind when he’s opened his mouth to begin with. And well, if they guy wanted to turn towards discussing boundaries, then maybe that’s something he should bring up during some conversation rather than randomly trying to make his way there by hinting at hugging issues all of a sudden. Knowing how their discussions can sometimes get, chances were that they might not even properly get to what the intention originally was, and just get caught up on the way by doing this.

Sad things aside and all, he would only offer the demon a faint snort towards the small stand off about counters. His current interest in expanding that talk to astronomical levels wasn’t very high, even though he had a feeling they might not be on the exact same page there. But for as long as it wasn’t causing a lot of issues, it ought to be fine for the time being. In any case, he had not been saying that the guy absolutely needed to bow down and stfu about it at any cost. He had really just been pointing out that well….if they guy could not enjoy it at all, or wanted to gripe about it a lot without it being done jokingly, then they may have a problem down the road. It wasn’t a demand, but more of a reality check if he was to call it something. He could play the resistance game for amusement, but if they guy seriously started biting his head over it, then it could be pretty tough.

‘’…do I even want to know?’’, he would jab back slightly, while mentally shaking his head at the matter. Well, the guy could have his little complaints sure, but he likely wasn’t going to always bow down to laziness. Complain all you want, man. And speaking of complaints, their ways of joking were falling under one as well now. ‘’…really. Well, you literally went and just stated that it could be viewed one way or the other, like a simple fact. If I didn’t know better, I’d just think you were expanding on what you said before. It would only show we are on the same page if I could be sure of what you meant by it.’’, he would half shrug. ‘’I was honestly just saying though. Talking about weather is boring to begin with.’’ Regardless, he was aware of the differences there in a sense, and it wasn’t like he never used dry humor or deadpan himself despite it not being his preference in most cases. Still, it was just one of those things that can easily be missed unless you know the person well enough and can solidly guess when they might be just joking, or if a whole conversation is just jokes, making it obvious that it’s what it is. He was pretty sure that his own attempts at ‘seriousness’ when joking flew over people’s heads nearly 99% of the time if only because he tended to appear serious in general, making it very hard to distinguish his intention at times. Sometimes he found the fail reactions amusing, and sometimes they were eye-roll worthy instead. Maybe that’s why he leaned towards sarcasm more. It was at least slightly easier to pinpoint its existence when it was exaggerated enough. At the end of the day though, he wouldn’t be able to even count the failures that happen anyway.

Hmm? He would shoot the guy a somewhat pointed look. ‘’Well, isn’t that too bad?’’ To be honest though, this whole thing had nothing to do with anything that happened prior at all. He couldn’t care less when it came to that, and if the guy wanted to assume he was doing this because of the perceived ‘easy to break’ stuff, then he was boarding the wrong train of thought right away. It was just the way he was at times. He wasn’t necessarily meek himself when it came to actually asserting himself at times, that was a fact, but it would be wrong to say that he used it to run people over or force them to do stuff. Well, assuming there wasn’t actually a very good reason for him to in fact try bossing someone around. However, under normal day to day circumstances, he would not. Let’s just say that he enjoyed the push and pull for what it was. If the demon had big issues with any kind of power play, then they might end up butting heads over the matter sooner or later. At the end of the day though, while he could come off as forceful in situations like that, he wasn’t aiming to actually get to be the boss. If the other side fought back? Good. The only problem was when they took it a bit too seriously and assumed he was trying to make them submit for real. One could say he did just see it as a game in most cases, so that was that.

Now then…onto the sudden complications, apparently…

When the guy ponged his answer back to him again, he would rub the back of his neck momentarily, almost in mild agitation. ‘’No. I meant what I said. I’m frowning more at myself than you.’’ He was serious there, really. The problems wasn’t so much Rika as it was him being discontent with his own stuff. It just came off the wrong way, because what the demon did was sort of the beginning point of it all. However, he wasn’t really trying to express discomfort over the action itself regardless. Complications go? Well, when didn’t they anyway?

He would blink, furrowing his brows slightly as he listened to the explanation which was given in response to his question. When the demon made a mention of his scars, he would absentmindedly use on of his hands to trace over the scar on his other arm, seemingly thinking. When Rika said his next words and turned away from him though, he would kind of snap out of it and sigh. Why was he doing that again? ‘’Look, no. Let’s not go that way in the first place. It’s not so much you as it is me in this case. I don’t want you to be thinking I think bad of your actions or anything like that, despite how this seems to look.’’, he would shake his head lightly, whether the guy would give him the courtesy to look back for the conversation instead of staring at the TV while they were talking or not. This was honestly kind of exasperating, but nothing to be done since it was already happening anyway. ‘’I asked just because I wanted to know how you view the action, in case we see it differently, that’s all, because I’d rather know than go through this blindly.’’ On the note of differences, there sure appeared to be some, but they could work their way to that on the go. ‘’That said however, whatever your perceived context is…well, it’s yours. Can’t say knowing it would just change mine anyway, so that alone is not a big thing in itself. I never assumed you were really trying to be inappropriate in the first place. You sure could have, but even if you had been aiming for that, the differences would be minimal at this point.’’ Such a short moment of staring would not illustrate the differences well enough, really.

‘’Either way, if there’s anything that does bother me, it’s what happens after. You saw what I did when you answered me, yes? All you had to do is make a mention towards certain part of my looks for my mind to focus on it.’’, he would pause for a bit with a mild frown. ‘’What I’m trying to say by that is that if you go and stare at me, making me aware of the action existing, I will probably end up doing the same. Because you’ll make me think about it, whether I really want to do so or not. And while you may not initially have any intentions of it going places beyond just ‘looking’, I’m not entirely sure how long that can last without something going exactly where it wasn’t supposed to, even if only on accident. Can't always tell your mind what it should and shouldn't be doing.’’ And what would come of that? ‘’I mean, we never quite set a firm expectation of what is okay and what isn’t, so I would assume were something to happen to ruin the originally calm moods, it would at the very least be awkward, which is probably not what either of us wanted to accomplish by being here.’’, he would be quiet for a short moment before shrugging. ‘’I suppose I just don’t really want something really dumb tripping us over. We seem to be able to create the wrong kind of tension very easily based on previous experiences, so it kind of seems like it could easily go all the wrong ways if left unchecked.’’ Was he wrong…?

Rika would blink at the response given as he looked at the other with a light tilt of his head. “O..k, but I never said you were. I just thought that there may be a point to what you brought up or that you were just confused is all.” Did he say something that suggested he thought the other was being passive-aggressively giving hints or something? Or was the question in itself the thing that triggered it? And if that was the case...then he could not question things?

???

The demon would shake his head slightly to shut that madness down, knowing good and well that was getting to a level of stupid he did not even want to deal with. This was just a normal conversation no reason to pick wording apart like that when there was no need to. Right, right. Well despite the mental hiccup outside of a curious glance and calmness, Rika managed to keep himself in check and not fuck things up for no reason.

He understood he was overthinking and was just thanking goddess for the time being it wasn’t showing anything on the outside or setting off any sparks between them. Yeah he was going to end up beating himself down, but until he could get a handle on himself he would just deal with it.

Moving on to more simpler matters, the demon would nod at the other words. “Well it is quite fun and if you ever just want to give it a try, I could teach ya to ride one,” he would say with a light smile finding that offer relatively easy to give since even if it wasn’t something he did every day, the demon still enjoyed riding and sharing that with another? That would be nice after so long; however, he left it up to the other to do what he would with it for in the end it was his choice to say yes or not. Well wherever that would go it would go as things shifted elsewhere as they moved from transportation chat to odd jokes about standing in doorways? He guess that is what it was they were doing. He wasn’t sure, but he would go along with it as he gave the other a smirk.

“I think I will dare to one day,” the demon would toss easily back not backing down from the play or challenge. While it was true he wasn’t actually gonna do anything to the guy, he suppose if he really wanted to he could be creative in that department on what he did; however, luckily for the other none of this was too be taken serious as the fox played the game easily enough...until the hugging matter came.

Hoo boy...Things just couldn’t remain light even when he wasn’t even attempting to drag the mood down or anything. To the other’s reaction, RIka smile would fade as he raised his eyebrows. “Neeh? Make it what it never meant to be? I am afraid I do not follow. I understood it was a joke and I was just telling you yes it would be a thing unless you said otherwise. I am not sure how that is turning it into something outside of a comment keeping with the topic. As for the breaking topic, that was honestly a joking matter.” The demon would say as his eyebrows furrowed a bit confused. Did he say the wrong things. I mean he did deliver it light heartedly, but apparently it wasn’t enough for the other not too take it seriously? He didn’t want arguments or atmospheres being destroyed because of himself, but what was he to do? He honestly was just going along with what he had….and on that note, now that the words were out of his mouth he wondered what sort of can of worms he had just opened there. Well, hopefully it wouldn’t be too bad.

Error 401 aside at least the next bit went over relatively well, the guy didn’t seem to take offense at him being a bit of rebel when it came to sarcasm and what not, but then again Rika hadn’t been trying to be overly serious with that one either. He was sure that he’d adapt to the sarcasm just as the other would maybe adapt to traits he had, so the demon would remain more or less chilled and would remain that way through the lazy bit as he stretched a bit and looked over at the other.

“I dunno you tell me if you wanna know or not?” he respond back, in laid back tones his smirk remaining in place as he watched the other with a playful eye. Yes he could be lazy, but he could work his ass off too. It all just depended on what was happening. Anyway despite some issues here and there, he was quite enjoying the chat until joking and comments became a bit too serious as somehow the subject of joking became a thing for the moment.

“Well, I suppose my deliver did make it confusing and in a way you are somewhat right; however, my intent wasn’t to expand on what I just said, but rather what i was hearing from you and going from there. And yes it helps when we are on the same page. Something we seem to fail to do no matter what we try.” The demon would close his eyes and shake his head at that one as a small smirk crossed his face. Heh would there ever be a day where they were actually on the same page or just chilled and not assuming this or that about each other? He had to wonder, but for now did not dig into that too much right now. He would reflect later and for now just deal with what was.

Anyway reopening his eyes, he would meet the pointed look with a relaxed one as he gave the other a lopsided grin. “I am afraid it is,” he would respond back easily enough. While it was true he may have had the wrong base for why the other did what he did, Rika was not stuck on the train so to speak. It was more like he was on the train, but as he learned knew things found ways to jump off said train of lies. It was a complicated and perhaps backwards concept, but for Rika it was his way of proving mental things wrong and learning to grow and move forward is all. Even so, his chaotic thoughts never showed on the surface and perhaps the air would’ve remained more or less chilled if staring hadn’t apparently triggered a misunderstanding and complication.

Here we go.

Rika would catch movement out of the corner of his eyes and glance over to see the guy rubbing the back of his neck seeming a bit agitated as he answered. To what was said, the demon tilted his head lightly in the others direction as his eyebrows furrowed, in a bit of confusion. “I am not following,” he would say his eyes staying on the TV for now, but then falling silent that confusion would melt away as he heard the next set of words.

To this, the demon would let out a sigh that sounded more like a groan as he did indeed stop looking at the TV as he turned in his position, causing the cat to move off of him, as he rested his arm upon the couch and looked up at the other with a light frown as he took it all in before responding.

“First off, I wasn’t going off in that direction despite my expression. I was honestly just contemplating how the behavior could indeed be offensive or rude depending on the person. It didn’t cross my mind to actually consider that until I saw your reaction. That was all that look was for. As for the rest well...I did give my view on the matter and it is cool that you asked. Honestly, I don’t mind being questioned. Even less so if it helps put us on the same page. In fact, I prefer you ask, but try not too assume the first grumpy face I make as a sign i am going into depression land because more often than not, I am not even on that path. Just thinking,” he would pause and take a moment to brush a piece of hair behind his ear. “As for staring itself, I can see where silence could be problematic in the situation and lead to place we don’t want to go. You’re right we didn’t lay down rules because other stuff got in the way and so we don’t know what will or will not trigger things; I agree something could easily turn this into a shit fest for a lack of a better word and to be frank I don’t want that,” the demon would give the other a light smile. “I honestly just want to be able to chill with ya like we did over chat, I understand we have hiccups, but I think even more troublesome than the hiccups is actually a core problem here. Like you and I think a lot, but also seem to share this common ground of being overly cautious. I am not sure if it is really a sign of distrust still here or just trying to think too much ahead because we simply don’t want to fuck up, so since we never did it how about we figure out the rules, boundaries, and translation issues. Yes, I know it is probably not what you came to do, but I think we have to start somewhere if we are actually going to enjoy being around each other.”

Well now the demon didn’t blow up and wasn’t being overly anxious with this. No he was completely relaxed as he looked up at the other with a sheepish smile. Yes he had invited him over, but how can you have a proper sleepover if everyone was on pins and needles?

Meanwhile Andromeda would hop on the sofa’s arms and rest on the opposite end and just watch the situation unfold.

‘’And my answer to that is no on both fronts. Which is what I was saying, as a matter of fact. If I wanted you to realize I had a serious point, or to get you to clear away confusion, you would be aware of it already. My point is simply that if I am not drilling something in your face directly, then there most likely aren’t any hints you are missing and I am just talking about a subject because it came up.’’ Though he kind of did feel like jabbing a finger in the guy’s face for a moment. That probably wouldn’t be the best way of driving the point home though, as amusing as it could sound in imagination. That notwithstanding though, it was all more or less just a case of different ways of thinking, as well as expression. He didn’t always explain himself in the most simple or linear ways, so he was perhaps hard to understand here and there.

Nevertheless….’’Maybe.’’ He had no idea, to be honest. He had nothing against the horses, but whether he wanted to or not? He was feeling kind of neutral for the time being. If the guy dragged him alone, fine, and if not, probably fine as well unless he would end up so bored he’d wish he had followed. He couldn’t predict what would happen in any case, so it was really a what if subject at that particular point in time.

Moving past that, they would proceed to engage in a bit of playing around before even properly getting inside. Most of it went past surprisingly smoothly compared to a lot of their other talks, but there was still one to be found that did snag a little bit. ‘’Because you’re kind of bringing up specific, possibly touchy subjects. And I don’t quite want to comment on it, because if we start an actual talk about it now accidentally, we’ll get stuck in the whole thing all over again. And that’s if I disregard the fact that reminders about how ‘I can just say it If I have an issue’ tend to irk me a little, mainly when they aren’t said for a good reason. I already know that, and it can kind of get on the nerves to be poked with it.’’ He didn’t quite see such a combination as a very good joke. Plus, for all he knew the guy could have been at least half serious when saying it. And even if not? Well, he doubted that there was no way to make unplanned ‘offense’ happen when stuff like that was on board. He just didn’t want to be pushing/testing it when it was already driven to a point as specific as the breaking and such. He wasn’t sure whether they were in the right mindset to already be trying to joke about those things. That could backfire really hard.

From there on, they would eventually float through the rest of the jokes, even a talk about the differences between joking styles. It was probably a given that the two of them would rarely be on the same page, but maybe all they needed to do is be able to acknowledge that somehow and not always started heated discussions about the matter? They were different people, so of course they wouldn’t be on the same page all the time…and in their specific case, simply not often at all. Maybe they needed to work on being able to take the misses without causing too much ruckus about it, but how to actually do that was a mystery of its own. Assumptions can sometimes happen to hurt immediately as well, so Rika’s train approach to guesses may not always work out well either. If you realize you should be jumping a bit too late, you will already have to repair something you’ve messed up by staying there as long as you have. In some cases, at least. It depended on many variables there.

Thus unexpected railroads, such as the staring matter that came up soon after. He would tap his fingers against the sofa he was sitting on, his mild agitation still running for a little bit. He had no idea why was this so hard sometimes. ‘’I was not trying to say that you were definitely and without a question going in that direction. I just simply know that there is a decent possibility you could end up doing so if I leave you in the dark about my intentions, and seeing as that would hurt the conversation I found it easier to make a note on it beforehand. I think it doesn’t hurt either of us to make some things clear ahead of time when we can so that they don’t sneak up on us later and cause unpleasant damage.’’ Well, that kind of tied into the demon speaking about being too cautious, but was that honestly so bad? At times, sure, but there are always also moments when it may be better to sweep something away early on with only a slight clash instead of waiting for it to build up and then leave way harsher wounds.

He would shake his head slightly. ‘’Well, chat is rather different than this, so I don’t exactly aim to make it align anyway. As for what you say, I think for me, trust is a separate matter from this all. If I didn’t trust you, I probably wouldn’t even agree to come here. I mean, you could try to do god knows what to me while I’m sleeping at your place, so I think a decent level of trust is necessary here as is. I just tend to think ahead a lot normally. I’m not purposefully trying to exercise caution in most cases, but it can be hard to do nothing when you’re aware of how things could possibly go wrong if you don’t do anything. Would you just sit and bite your tongue in that face? I honestly don’t know why my mind works that way, but I can’t seem to just turn the switch off and be blissfully oblivious to how whatever is happening connects to everything else and so on. I can’t say what are we supposed to do there, but I don’t think trying to stomp it down works all too well. I personally would sooner say that we need to stop getting worked up over it happening. So it will, and what? We should be able to handle discussions in a civilized manner without biting each other and getting butthurt over so many little things, right? In which case, what is really the problem behind bringing things up?’’, he would sigh faintly as he sunk himself deeper into his seat.

‘’And well, I don’t exactly want rules. Rules imply restrictions, and I think we could end up hindering ourselves instead of helping the matter by doing that. I don’t feel like I am bothered by the lack of boundaries in the sense that I want them to be obviously there and tell me what I can and cannot do in each specific situation…..It’s more, like all I really want is to know that I’m not going to get smitten or unknowingly create a super awkward atmosphere by doing something we have not talked about before. Because we can’t always, and it is impossible to set clear boundaries about literally everything on Earth. I mean, it’s just that after how many completely unexpected blow outs and errors we’ve had already, it is pretty hard to just do something and not at least worry it could turn things sour without it even being meant to. I do not like rules, but I still like a certain sense of certainty and having a ground to stand on instead of floating about aimlessly, which we seem to lack.’’ And they lacked it pretty horribly, he would say. It always came down to that one thing after all, did it not? All of their clashes culminated from them not being able to rely on the hope that it will be okay solidly enough, thus automatically trying to avoid the problem before there was any to truly be found. Just because they could not clearly see whether it would evolve into a problem or not. And when one is unsure, it affects their confidence in making any kind of move.

He would huff a little as he gave the demon a questioning stare. ‘’Let’s for example take a theoretical situation in case things here did go beyond the simple harmless stuff like staring just for the sake of having a look. Imagine you were not thinking that way at all, and only doing your appreciating as you called it, and then you suddenly find yourself dealing with the other person actually getting turned on by it all and it being too obvious for you to just pretend to ignore. What would you do in that situation, if we apply the kind of standing the two of us have with each other right now for example? It’s things like that, where you can’t exactly just go ‘oh, something happened, we’ll talk about it and find a solution for later’. You have to see it through on the spot, and when the relations between the people involved are known to be shaky, would you feel comfortable and confident finding yourself stuck in such circumstances? Whichever end of the stick would you get there, that is.’’ Well…?

The demon give the other a small sheepish smile as he blinked in a slow cat like fashion. “Kind of whatcha you are doing now. Got it,” he would respond back easily enough. It was amazing really how one comment was taken to another level and then another when it came to them even when it came to just trying to explain things in a simple and calm manner that required nothing more than an okay or nod at times. The demon wasn’t sure if this was a bad or good thing. On one hand it didn’t really do much harm as long as it wasn’t taken overboard. On the other it could be a bit questionable depending on the situation. This could lead to blow outs if handled wrongly, but the demon was in no mood for blow outs and just took the information as is. So he learned something new and that was that. No need to drive the point any further than this. Moving on unless the other had more to add to that.

Letting one topic slide into the next the demon would give a light “K” and a nod when the other gave his maybe to the horse topic and learning to ride. That was something the would put on the list of things to do later. For now he’d see how things panned out in the present and worry about future planning later....And it would seem that full focus was needed here since right after the whole joking bit passed with ease, the matter decided to become heavier as the demon unintentionally started a minor clash. Jeez...could he say nothing without causing issues >.>? Well at least this was easier to maneuver around than a full out argument...or so he hoped as he fan the air slightly before him with his hands in a way to say calm down in a subtle way.

“Okay, okay. My bad. Didn’t mean for it to go that way when I said, but I can see your point. So apologizes there. As for it irking ya, i had no idea my words were doing that. Good to know,” he would say his words calms as he took both the mistake and the feedback given in a calm fashion. Well, he would just use the mistake as a stepping stone in the learning department and adapt so in the future something like this would not happen so much or if it did it wouldn’t be under the curtain of agation. In any case, he’d let the rest of what came come before they shifted to something a bit lighter for a few moments.

It seemed this was a theme with them. Sometimes they were great with each other and other times they failed hard, so what was it that made these calm moments different than like 98% of the conversation that was questionable. Were they getting along because they were more relaxed and just flowing along without question or was there some other component there they somehow missed in other departments? Was it a pattern of spots where there were no trains of assumptions or views boarded and they actually walked the road together? One had to wonder. Wonder about the ups and downs and how was within in a few minutes of being around each other they were somehow diving into deep and complicated matters.

Red orbs would drift briefly to the other’s hand as he tapped the sofa seeming to be agitated; however, soon the demon’s attention would drift upward as he nodded a bit. “I can see that side of the coin and yes I can agree that notifications beforehand when it comes to making certain topics clear is a good thing. Thus my earlier explaining of my expression earlier. It’s kind of nice to be on the same page a bit.” He was fine with clarity cause honestly as confusing as they could be at times clarity was kind of needed to not get hung up in odd webs. As to what else was said….

“Heh well that is true,” the demon would say with a light chuckle to the trust thing; however, his light humor would become seriousness as the conversation continued. “Well no it is not. What I meant is I would like to be just chilled with you is all and not worry a ton about pretty much what you just said. Yes, we know how it pans out and while I do think thinking ahead is great, sometimes I wonder if it is too much thinking and planning. This is not saying throw caution out the window. I guess, I’d just like some of the underlying tension there to go away. Like you know go with the flow and just tackle problems as they come rather than worry so much we bring them to the surface...like I’ve done a few times already. Maybe that is what we need to do. Just kind of let things go as they will and just address the big fish or little ones if they need attention. I am not sure if there is anything else we can do outside of that. And to answer your question, if I was going to just roll over about the matter or had an issue with bring up matters, I don’t think we would be having this conversation now. I am not that great biting my tongue after all.” Yeah among other things, but hey no need to go there right? “And yeah. I think we can find ways to remain on chilled levels when it comes discussing things. I think chilling all around and just kind of accepting each other ways might be a start perhaps.”

The demon would pause as he stared down at the seat cushion for a moment thinking as he absentmindly played with his earring in his left ear as he thought; however, he would look back at the other as he moved and sighed. As for what he heard, he would actually remain quiet for a bit as he thought on that one.

And then with a light hum he would actually stretch out a bit before sliding up on the sofa to sit next to the other.

“Well, I think that is the problem right there. The worry. You worry about things going wrong from experience, I worry because well I worry and think every wrong move is going to blow things over. We worry so much we don’t relax and in turn create this circle where stuff gets explained and explained. All the same stuff, but never really a solution because in the end we don’t actually pause enough to actually let what happens happen. We just talk it to death and make no progress. As for that last bit…” he would pause to move from his spot. He would move over to the other and actually sit down on him side ways, so that his legs could stretch out a bit. From here he would lean his head against the other's shoulder a bit and settle. Sharaku was warm. It was kind of nice...

Anyway...

“Well it is true the situation is unclear when the relationship is shaky and perhaps if the core problems were something said parties could not even figure out or discuss then I would be a bit meh about letting it get too far. In fact, I would put a stop to it the moment i saw the effects more likely with a verbal cue or action depending on what happened. However, for a case like ours...I think the best thing to do is not question it. I mean if the other party is interested, I would go as far as the other allowed me too. I wouldn’t think on the matter, I would just let it happen because at times that is the only way to learn by doing. Though, I have to ask did that staring turn you on? Just curious since you asked.”

Well, things seemed to be more or less settling down there as they went through them, the only still visible red button being the hug matter which gained an extra dimension somehow. Although, it didn’t appear to be heading towards a serious clash either, assuming nothing tripped up along the way once again. ‘’I just don’t always like it since it can sound like the person doesn’t really think I can remember things the first time they were said. Unless you plan to turn it into some sort of funny running gag or something.’’, he would shrug vaguely. Unnecessary reminders are unnecessary. Mainly when there’s no reason to believe it’s needed, or it’s an inside joke of sorts.

Too bad those drawn out talks weren’t just running jokes themselves, for that would certain save them a lot of trouble in many cases. Then again, what can one do? It’s still better to talk than to pretend nothing is wrong. The latter could be even more destructive than occasional disagreements and minor clashes happening through discussion. Sometimes a little bit of evil has to be endured to reach the good stuff. That’s life for you.

He wouldn’t say much when it came to the preemptive clear outs, since there didn’t seem to be any need for further clarification anymore. At least he thought there wasn’t, and he would rather not turn even that into a problem by trying to force the topic further in some way. If Rika had something more to say or ask there, he wasn’t going to stop the guy so there was that.

‘’You say address things when they seem to need attention. But how do you propose we decide what does need the attention? Seeing as the main complaint is that we do it too much in the first place, is anything going to change if we continue viewing almost everything as a discussion-worthy issue, therefore bringing it up as always?’’, he would raise an eyebrow at that one slightly. The rest of what had been said sounded like more or less a repeat of things that had either been said or at least implied at already, thus he wasn’t going to keep the wheel spinning there unless it turned out to be necessary. He did however wonder what the demon meant by that one suggestion, since to him it sounded like they would simply keep doing what they’ve been up until now if the sole indicator was that ‘it appears to need attention’. Both of them would proceed to interpret that in their own way, resulting in a bunch of things being tossed out there just like they were now and used to be before.

He would blink when the guy moved to sit beside him, but choose to not comment on it as he focused more on processing the words that followed the action. Well, was going to, but did not quite get much time there as the demon decided to move again right after finishing his piece of wisdom. He would stay still for the most part at that moment, although he did raise his hands a bit, hovering mid-air as if unsure of where he was supposed to put them now that he had an extra ‘object’ on him as well. He couldn’t really decide apparently as he remained nearly motionless and silent like that for a passing moment, before he directed his attention towards the things being said instead of mental decisions. ‘’I never really had a good reason to accommodate people before. I’m not sure it’s just the worry causing the lack of relaxing as you put it. I’ve never been put in the spot where I had to rely on another person simply getting me before, and I think it’s not easy to just suddenly start doing….’’, he would comment towards the first part that he didn’t get to address before, before stopping briefly as he thought about the rest….

…and finally actually moved his hands. He would let one of them just hang by his side for the time being as he used the other for poking the guy in the chest with his index finger as he gave a low cough. ‘’Irrelevant. Or perhaps I should say that I will leave that one to your imagination. Speaking of which, I think you should be able to answer that yourself thanks to your current position. One way or another though, my answer does not currently matter, as even if it had, I guarantee you that the talk we just went through would have killed it effectively. So you will never know.’’, he would roll his eyes in a joking manner as he proceeded to poke the guy some more. ‘’I think I have to question whether it’s something you actually want however, because you’re nearly smooshing yourself against me while we’re pretty much half naked, which could make one wonder about the implications. Even more so since you did it right when I brought up this particular topic.’’ Hmm, coincidence or not? Well, who wouldn’t like to know?

“Hmm,” the demon would pause for a moment as a hand went to cup his chin as he thought. After a few seconds, he’d look back up at the other with and give a nod as he let his hand fall back to his side. “I understand and yeah about making it gag. Maybe it will become one when the subject is not so much a trigger point anymore.” The demon would rub the back of his head sheepishly at that one. It would take some work, but maybe the fact it was going over more or less smoothly now meant the issue wasn’t as bad as it seemed. Perhaps with time they really could look back at it and laugh at all. For now he was just happy it hadn’t exploded or something.

Well at least this proved that despite earlier blowouts the pair could actually speak in civil tones about touchy matters. Would always go this smooth? Probably not. There were bound to be areas where they would buttheads and bare fangs, but as long as they could survive maybe there was hope that those matter wouldn’t hurt so bad the more they actually figured out how to tackle them without gasoline and an open flame. Speaking of that, the matter of addressing be the subject of the next topic and unlike the others this one was a bit more challenging to get an answer for. Regardless, Rika would try as he watched the wave of silence rise up once more.

After a while he would just frown as he scratched his head a bit. “Well that is the thing, I don’t think we can say what is worthy of tackling and what is not worthy of tackling until we reach it. It is true we have different views and I think that no matter how well we get along in the end there will be something where we just sort of flail at each other until we get to some point of understanding or what not. I think discussion is unavoidable in the end. What I am trying to say is, it is fine, but not too the point like we had it a few moments ago where like every little thing was a clash point or had to be explained due to whatever issue. I am asking for us to just let it flow naturally for once and if things do indeed come up well we deal with it then,” he would look over at the other and blink. “Is this...making any sense at all?” he would ask not sure how to make it any simpler because honestly this was not easy to put into words due to the fact that it relied on things just happening and adapting. Welp time to see if that was a fail.

Moving onto well moving about and other things, the conversation would remain more or less chilled until the demon decided he did want to sit on the sofa, but rather the other instead. Now could this end up bad? Well yes. Rika could very well end up on the floor if the other noped it; however, something more amusing happened. As he sat down on the other and settled onto his new cushion, he took note of the hand movement and then shortly after the lack of said movement as the other seemed frozen. He could’ve made a remark on it or even moved to place the other’s hands where he wanted them; however, the demon decided not to do that. After all, Sharaku was a big boy. He was sure he could figure it out, so instead of making it awakard, his eyes would pass over the other’s hands briefly before the demon closed his eyes a bit, listening to the other’s breathing and heart beat in that small spanse of silence. When it was broken red eyes would open again as he focused on the cloud’s outside.

“Adapting does take a while, I agree. And it can be hard to figure out things with another involved. Even more so when you have a nutcase like me, but to be honest you are not alone in that boat. While I have dealt with people, I think this is the first time I actually just tried being me,” he would let out a soft heh as his lips curled a bit. “I find it a bit strange, how I almost forgot who I was thanks to all those years of burying me, but it is kind of nice to be out once more.”

From here the demon would allow the silence to come remaining quite chilled and content where he was until the other moved again and poked him in the chest.

Eh?

He would blink and look down at where the other poked, his mind automatically thinking something was there for who knows what reason, but seeing nothing he was became slightly confused. So much so it would take him a moment to answer what had been said. “Irrelevant. I don’t know considering it would be nice to know what actually worked in that department and what didn’t,” he would begin as his eyes focused on the hand poking him. This was challenging to ignore…. “And well yes. I suppose my position would reveal the truth alas it did not and unfortunately it seems my timing on most things cause other things to get missed. Or in this case, happen to line up with conversations unintentionally. Though I didn’t really think anything of the matter when I moved. I just wanted to be close to you and snuggle. My mind did not think much outside of that,” he would say and then becoming quiet he would watch the other poke him once before he just could not ignore it anymore.

Not thinking anything except hand poking me/thing moving, the demon’s left hand would move slowly, the fingers cupping a bit like a paw before freezing slightly raised as his eyes remained focused on the hand. For a moment he was still and then as if he was pouncing on something he would move his hand quickly in an attempt to grab it and if successful said hand would automatically be lifted to his mouth where he would actually bite it. Not hard, but a firm enough that if was something small like a small kitten or something he could hold it with ease...and so that happened.

‘’Would you want it to be?’’ Guess it could become an actual inside joke of sorts if they tried to go that route, but was that a good idea for them? Well, he had absolutely no idea, although his guess would probably lean towards no for as long as their style of approaching things remained in the overly reactive territory. Sometimes even a joke could come off the wrong way and cause issues, despite it being unnecessary.

And well, the two of them had obviously different views on the whole clashing matter anyway. Or so it appeared. Yes, he was attempting to avoid it in his own way, but that was mainly because he was aware of how unpleasantly it tended to end when it came to the two of them. Under normal circumstances though, he had a rather high tolerance of discussions and talks without feeling the need to classify them as it being overdone. He didn’t see much of a problem with it at all, for as long as both sides could maintain a certain level of cool about it. That was apparently a problem here though, since it obviously wasn’t working well no matter what. He would sigh faintly. ‘’Yes and no. I know what you want, but I can’t say that I always see it the same way. You talk about how what happened moments ago was all about clashing and such, but I don’t necessarily get the point there. If we were in complete agreement, we wouldn’t need to talk at all. I honestly don’t see most of it as actual clashes in most cases. We have different points of view, okay, but does expressing that need to be labeled as a bad thing the moment it lasts more than a few sentences and all? I don’t see why something like that has to be unnatural flow anyway. It happens for a reason, and at the end of the day, I think I’d rather take that over both of us ignoring everything and never making an attempt at discussing. Everything has its bad sides of course, but I feel like a big part of the problem is also the fact that the whole explanation thing is being turned into a huge halo solely because it keeps happening. I don’t think it’s bad at all. It just needs to be done properly, because anything is unpleasant when handled the wrong way.’’ The fact that they kept crashing the talks and so on wasn’t exactly an excuse to call in depth explanations as negative in some ways. It didn’t need to be a big problem. It just somehow was for some unknown reason. But, don’t people need to communicate in detail in the first place? Getting the itches whenever something starts being brought up doesn’t indicate good things for the future in that area.

Agreements and disagreements aside however, the situation would eventually flip to something even more out there. It was definitely a strange occurrence of events, that was for sure. And it would seem that their differences would sooner or later affect this one as well, although some talking was in order first. He would narrow his eyes at the other briefly at the first set of words. ‘’Well, you seem to be more willing to do it than me anyway.’’ Well, that wasn’t a lie. While he did act somewhat differently around the demon than he typically did around random people he barely knew, he didn’t think he could honestly claim he was being himself most of the time. Not in a really bad way that is, but he did tend to automatically default to certain things at times, despite the fact that he would perhaps have something else in mind, where he to really just do what sounded the most appealing to him. It was kind of complex though…

As was the next matter that came around. He would be silent at first as he watched the initial reactions to his poking and words happen. He had half the mind to just bop the guy over the head, but would end up settling with just pursing his lips slightly before he gave a response. ‘’Well, weren’t you the one who didn’t want a bunch of explanations killing the flow? Though with you being Mr.Clueless in general, I might end up having to resort to that eventually.’’ Different wavelengths, obviously enough. ‘’Also, I didn’t really think so anyway. I already realize that there isn’t much chance of you wanting something else than some sort of hugging when you come as close as this. You’re pretty obvious about your preferences.’’ Which could be somewhat unfortunate. Not that he had huge issues with hugs and cuddles, but there’s a time for everything. He wasn’t the type to pursue hugs and just passive closeness all the time, as much as it could be nice on occasion. He wouldn’t get a lot of time to ponder on that however, as his train of thought was soon interrupted rather abruptly. To be frank, he hadn’t been paying a lot of attention to the demon’s actions, the poking being half on auto pilot during those moments as his mind was elsewhere. That didn’t mean he would also pass over the fact that he was suddenly being chomped on for pretty much no reason. Sure, he did poke the other for seemingly random reasons too, but there’s a difference between completely harmless touching and anything that involved teeth, seeing as that carried much greater potential risks depending on reactions.

Well, his first reaction would be to jerk his hand back on instinct unless the other was clamping on it too hard for him to be able to, definitely not wanting to take the risk of bite wounds, regardless of whether that would actually happen or not. The guy honestly had no idea what was he getting himself into there. He had been getting mildly frustrated over the kind of route the whole thing was taking already, and this only made his mood spike more. Well, fine. There were plenty ways to play the game after all. Muttering something under his breath momentarily, he would make his own move soon after, attempting to shove the demon off of him to the side so that the guy would land his butt back on the sofa instead of him. Also making sure it was to the side the other had been stretching his legs towards, so that he really would have anything holding him down once it was done with. If he did succeed in doing so, he would proceed to move himself and get on top of the guy, pushing him down into a lying position and hovering above him propped on his hands and knees. He would offer the guy an intense narrowed look.

“My wants in that department is irrelevant due to the fact that those sort of thing have the tendency to just be or not be a thing. It honestly depends on how the parties involve view the matter and considering you and I are often on different pages with this sort of thing, I dunno how wise it is for it to become that amusing as the possibility is. Even saying that tho, who knows what we will make it in the end.” Touchy subjects were touchy subjects and so the demon honestly just let their weight and meaning to himself or another reveal itself with time. Whether it was going to remain a topic of headbutting or become something they could tease each other about later, Rika would roll with it either way.

Moving along Rika would literally facepalm at what happened next. Failed explain indeed that was not quite what he meant by his words, but he could see where things probably got mixed up. #RIPWORDING. Shaking his head, he would look up at the other with a small smile, his action before or his expression now did not show any anger, but rather light amusement at the situation.

“Okay. Hold the phone. Let’s back up a bit. When I said a moment ago, perhaps what I should’ve said was in the past ot back then and then elaborated from there. What I was speaking on were our clashes in the forest. Those were not normal discussions. That is the sort of thing I was speaking about. I was saying we can discuss, but unless it absolutely cannot be helped I want to avoid the ugly clashes like that as much as possible. As for the matter of discussing things, well it honestly depends on what it is and my mood. For example, most of the time I am open to it. I don’t mind talking or discussing; however you like to put it, but there are some topics that the more you poke at it the more I am going to become agitated and in turn may ask you to back off. You can expect that of me when we are speaking on certain topics that I may be way left and you the opposite. It is going to happen because well we are different like that. In any case, this small situation demonstrates my point a bit. The more we try and peg down this topic the more complicated and confusing it’s going to get, so I say just do what you do. You see I don’t nope this sort of thing and if I ever do, trust me it’d be pretty apparent. I think the situation has too many variables involved to settle on something. So, I think doing and adapting maybe the best here. I am not too sure if sitting and picking at it will make things any clearer,” he pause to rub at his left ear as he tilted his head at the other. “Though since you mentioned it, What is “handling it properly” for you anyway?” The demon would pause here to give the other room to speak or think or do whatever. He wasn’t asking to constantly shut things down or get cold feet in the face of things, he was just looking for ways they could approach the situation so it would be more like conversation and not just attacking. While it was true the conversation happening now did not bring a solid solution, it did give the demon some tools he could use later when it came to dealing with the man...or at least he thought they did. He would just have to see.

Though it appeared that this matter would never quite be solved, but before getting there the demon would actually turn his eyes upward towards the guy he leaned back a bit to get a better look at him. “Mmm. You think so?” he would ask watching the other for a bit wondering if the guy was implying he kept himself hidden and if so would he ever get to know the “real” Sharaku or would he always be left in the dark? An odd question, but one he pondered for only a few seconds before poking became a thing and his focus switched.

While he was in hunt mode, he could hear the words being spoken by the other and would find himself smiling a bit. “We keep circling back to that one and honestly we probably will since the need for explanation needed in some cases and not in others. And yes I can be clueless indeed.” He wasn’t dumb, but honestly sometimes he did not think before acting and sometimes that was okay and other times it wasn’t. So that was a thing. Anyway…

“Well is that at a bad thing? Being direct about what I prefer?” He wasn’t trying to be a bully or force things on the other, but still how was he ever going to know what he found as okay and not okay if they didn’t get in these situations or talked at all. A complicated balance made even more complicated when you threw moments of instinct in the middle. Did Rika have the intention of harming the other with his action? No. did he plan to eat him or anything of that nature? No, but what happened next was a matter of him forgetting that he was indeed dealing with a human that was going to react if he did what he did.

He could not explain why it happened, but for some reason the poking caught his attention fully and much like a cat a strong desire to either pounce or swat at it in a playful manner occurred. Typically, he was pretty good about stopping himself before it got too far, but this time? This time, he did not catch himself quickly enough and before he knew it, he had the other hand and for two moments of bliss, he was happy because he had caught what he wanted...but then reality hit like a fucking train startling him out of that simple bliss as things started to move in rather odd ways.

The moment Sharaku moved his hand was the moment Rika had snapped out of his small moment of forgetfulness. The guy would find that his hand was easy to free and outside of maybe a bit of spit from where the demon had chomped down there were very faint bite marks there, but nothing that wouldn’t fade away within a few moments. He honestly didn’t bite that hard, but that wouldn’t matter as the demon found himself being shoved off and then kind of trying to back up as the other decided to come at him rather quickly. He honestly didn’t have time to escape as his body was forced back against the sofa cushions, the sudden movement causing the cat to run and hide.

For a moment, there was a slight bit of panic as Rika remained absolutely still as he looked up at the intense face over him with apparent shock on his face as he scanned the other’s face not quite sure what to make of this as his heart thudded within; however, the shock would eventually wash away as he heard the question. In response, he would tilt his head slightly as he gave a light smirk.

“Well for two minutes I forgot myself, but you’ve kindly brought me back to reality. As for fun,” he would let out a soft amused snort before his eyes looked back up at the other. “That will be dependent on you and what you maybe implying with this.” His eyes would travel from the guy’s face to his shoulders, chest, and arms before they drifted back to the other making it quite clear one of the possibilities the demon thought this could suggest; however, he did nothing to act upon any urges as he simply waited to see what the other did and in turn go from there.

‘’Well, have it your way, I guess.’’ Though to be honest, didn’t the fact that it depended on how the people involved viewed it also mean that how either of them wanted it to be wasn’t all that irrelevant? It’s kind of the same thing. If you go and say that you do not want it to be a thing, then you could already have the answer to whether it will be, with a very high accuracy. After all, as long as at least one side is against it, the chance that it will become real drops significantly. He didn’t think it as random as the guy was trying to make it. One way or another, since it was on them, what they had in mind for it could hardly be dismissed as just irrelevant to the matter, but he wasn’t going to argue over something as tiny as that. It’s enough that the whole matter became what it had.

As for what followed. #RIPWording? More like #RIPComingToConclusions, in all honesty. The demon has the wrong idea there. Yes, it was true that he had indeed used the guy’s own words back at him when it came to the ‘moments ago’ detail of it all, but the simple fact that he was mirroring the phrases used did not mean the meaning of his answer was as focused as that too. He hadn’t really misunderstood, not really. He just didn’t want to go and ramble about everything and anything, thus he had chosen to go for the simple option of using the words that had been thrown at him in the first place. It was easier than trying to shift it all around right away. He would smile thinly. ‘’Doesn’t matter. I had gone along with what you first said, but that doesn’t mean I’m not aware of what all it could imply. Nevertheless, my answer remains the same. Yes, perhaps some of those discussions could have gone better than they actually have, but I’m honestly long over that. Even though smooth is always nicer, and is technically more desirable by base, I don’t really expect an actual discussion to pass through without disagreements. You call it ugly clashing, I would probably say failed attempts at a talk. Because that’s what it’s about in the end. For the biggest problem is that we fail at having a calm conversation about our differences, rather than anything else. Even though we should technically be able to, since those differences are part of us too, and shouldn’t be seen as a reason to fight, unless we are striving to be enemies.’’, he would give the other a wry smile before moving onto the question the guy added at the end. ‘’I think that would be exactly the thing you can’t seem to do. Not flipping out when we cannot agree and keeping it more or less calm until we find a way, instead of skyrocketing the bad moods when it happens. That alone can turn a talk for the worse by putting everyone on edge, even if it didn’t need to be that way. Because while I can see the positives of just doing at times, running away from more intense talks simply because you can’t tone down on the overreacting is not a solution at the end of the day. If the end goal is that we are content with each other, we need to be able accept even those bigger differences between us, otherwise we will keep harping at each other in the worst possible moments, and I would say that those aren’t something that can be properly put on the table through ‘doing’. Unless you have some revolutionary idea for how to properly express those things without engaging in a conversation about them.’’ In which case, kudos to the guy. Somehow though, he doubted that was the case there. You can show things through doing, but your range of depth and detail is highly limited there, which does not make it a good method to use for more complex matters. It is indeed good for a lot of things, and he wasn’t going to rule that out, but he didn’t want them to slap a huge red X on tougher discussions simply because ‘clashes are bad’. It was something they had to work out too, and that wouldn’t happen if they strove to put it on the backburner for who knows how long. Maybe they needed to focus not on being resistant towards what comes off as a clash, but on finding a way to make those particular talks less ‘dangerous’, so to say, thus allowing them to actually happen in some way. Because they couldn’t dodge them forever, could they?

But yes, maybe the matter would never reach an actual solution no matter how they tried to approach it, but that was something which remained to be seen for the time being. Eventually then point of focus would switch towards different mysteries anyway. ‘’In a sense.’’, he would answer the inquiry, keeping it a bit vague there. It was hard to say or explain, even if he wanted to. In part, maybe the other didn’t get to see the real him, but that was not exactly it either. He was apt at adapting himself within certain bounds, thus pinpointing what was the true real thing wasn’t so simple. Besides, if he were to imagine a person who knew him inside out, they would probably still want to call him a paradox of sorts. He could do one thing, and then later seemingly almost the opposite of that and yet not be lying/pretending in either case. In lieu of that, how do you classify someone’s real self properly? A simple question, with an extremely complex answer. At the end of the day, all of what you do is a part of you. Even if you are a liar and a snitch, those actions are a reflection of your self, and thus despite being able to say the person is hiding themselves under lies, you cannot say you do not know who they are either. It’s a matter of perspective too, after all. People have many layers.

‘’I’m not sure how should I feel about that.’’, he would just eye the guy somewhat thoughtfully. It sounded like it could be a mild struggle if it was really true that the demon tended to be clueless fairly often. The way he worked, one’s best bet was to be reactive enough in the moment when things were happening…otherwise there was a risk he would lose his mood and move onto something else fairly early. If he was going to be faced with the guy not realizing things or giving him confused looks frequently, it could become a very good way to kill his drive like nothing else. Hopefully, that was not going to be a staple though, since he would assume it would bring quite a good chunk of disappointment for both sides, were they unable to pull through on things.

When it came to preferences….’’No idea. Shhh though. Don’t think on it. Just let me feel disappointed for a moment.’’, he would toss back, his tone carrying a hint of amusement despite how the statement itself sounded. He didn’t want an argument out of that, so he would hope the guy would take the ‘joke’ well enough there. He didn’t necessarily lie though. While he was okay with hugs and cuddles, he tended to have specific moments where he would go towards that. Mostly when things were completely chill, like maybe them watching some movie and ending up in that position while doing it. Or perhaps as an afterthought to other less passive activities. Or even something to do in bed while sleeping. As an action done when there was some tension between them or when they weren’t both comfy and relaxed in general? Not so much. He would prefer to do something more energetic when he had some sort of built up energy to get rid of due to whatever that has been happening. A hug was not a good solution or a way to temper things for him. Did not work well, even though he was willing to tolerate it here and there. He wanted to cuddle when things were already peaceful, if.

Speaking of disappointments, what happened next could probably be called a pretty big one to boot. Either that, or a simple thing gone wrong. Well, he sure hadn’t expected to get bitten as a response to harmless playful poking, and he did not quite understand why would the guy want to do that to someone’s hand. While he could see light biting as an interesting addition to playing around, he would probably never think of aiming for the hand. That was just….too odd, and more of an atmosphere killer than anything else in his opinion. Of course, unless the person was offering you to nibble on their fingers or something, but that depended highly on the specific situation.

Anyway, possible scenarios and imaginations aside, what happened caused the situation to shift abruptly, ending with them in a rather interesting position to say the very least. In a different scenario, he would probably be surprised that he managed to pull it off without Rika halting him somewhere in midst, but then again, he had been running on surprise there. Plus, the fact that the guy had been nomming his hand suggested a lot of attention hadn’t been paid there. Still staring down at the other, clicking his tongue lightly at the situation. ‘’Luckily for you.’’, he would state simply towards the first half of the matter. He could have done a lot of other things instead of this. Like biting the guy in return, or even something more drastic than that. ‘’As for me…’’, he would pause for a moment, a sort of nonchalant look on his face. ‘’It’s no fun if I just straight up tell you. I’m implying everything and nothing. Make your pick. After all, it’s the most fun when we play the game, not when we cheat to get the ending fast.’’, he would offer the demon a riddle-like answer soon afterwards, letting the other interpret the situation based on that, and his own interests.

Rika wouldn’t say anything back to what was heard as he instead observed the other with a thoughtful eye. While he did mention that his desires were irrelevant to the situation, he was not tossing out the fact that what he or the other determined as being a thing could and probably would be a thing. All he was saying was that he alone could not determine things. Yes, he could desire things to be one thing or another, but in the end he was no longer alone in the equation and unless it was something that he just could not budge on, he figured most thing would come to this odd bridge where they would have to either work it out or compromise somewhere making said subjects flowly and what he may or may not want irrelevant in the long one. Sure he could express what he wanted, but still he could not dictate anything with it. This was just how it was when another was involved.

The thoughtful look would end with a blink as he heard the next words, he would remain quietly listening before actually responding back. He would smile lightly as he rubbed his arm a bit, looking off to the side in thought. “It is not that I can’t have a calm conversation otherwise, I don’t think we would be having this one now. I admit I got out of hand back then, but even so I did not mean to come off as someone that you could not talk to about differences. Even with complaints about over explaining...It is a bit complicated when trying to put into words, but I am not as closed and nope as I seem. I am not sure, but I suppose I can work on keeping it in check a bit better, but being a feelsy type person, you are kind of gonna have to get used to the fact that most of my responses are going to be emotional and if it something that goes deep it might be a lot more...what is the word...reactive? Than other topics.” It was true their style were like night and day, but was there really anything that he could do without changing himself completely? Sure he could adapt a bit, but outside of that? He wasn’t so sure, but perhaps in time they could figure that one out? Anyway he would look back at the other with a small smile. “Yeah, I understand what you are saying and as much as I wish I had a solution the issue, the only thing I can see us doing is just adapting to each other. We can do things, but also talk if that seems better. How does that balance sound?” Well at least he was trying to figure it out despite his early complaint about too much explaining. It was hard really to explain that matter, since he wasn’t noping the idea of clashing and trying to work through complex matters at all. He was just trying to find a balance that could work for them. Now would they come to a solution to the problem? Who knew, but something had to be done otherwise these one important fact could break them. Regardless the demon remained calm and hopeful on that front and on other fronts also as chatting shifted to other matters as the demon decided to close the distance between them.

“Is that so,” the demon would say softly not really rebelling against the vagueness or asking for clarity. He did get an answer and despite its shortness, he wasn’t looking for a deep conversation on the matter. When it came to real self, while he did say he was being open with the other, he knew in the end no one showed their full self, but rather aspects of themselves that in the end made up a whole. It was true he could’ve easily taken the vagueness as an avoidance of the topic at hand, but he didn’t. He was content with what he heard and just let himself trust that if there was more to be said then the other would say something.

To what was heard next, the demon would chuckle a bit. “Well, I don’t think you have too much to worry about. I may miss cues here and there, but I don’t think I am that bad.” And honestly he was not. It might be a derp moment here and there, but for the most part he thought he was pretty good at reading the situation and cues. At least he thought he read the more important ones pretty well.

Well despite how true that was or not, it would seem the demon would prove he was not a ticking time bomb as the other made a joke when it came to the topics of preference. The demon would smirk slightly. “Aww. Then let’s have a moment of silence as we lay that disappointment to rest.” He would play along with the joke easily enough, but he really would become silent. Not because of being hurt, but rather due to simply being content with the situation.

Well he was until things took an unexpected turn that is. While the guy let him get away with the cuddling, when he forgot for a moment that biting wasn’t in the human play book, he find himself brought to reality in what appeared to be a frightening way; however, when it all end the demon found himself going from afraid to amused both at the thing as whole. Even more so as things continued to play out.

“Indeed Lady Luck is on my side today considering the situation,” he would say easily enough back and then hearing the rest the demon would smile lightly. “Well, I suppose you have a point there. The game is more fun when one is guessing isn’t it?” He would shift slighlty to move his hands. He would gently trace his fingers along the other’s arms and in before shifting then upward to trace along the shoulders, the base of the neck. The whole while he would remain calm as his eyes took in the other not hiding intentions here. “Though the question remains, now that you have me. What do you plan to do?” His fingers would find their way into the others hair a bit as he gave it a gentle stroke, the whole time watching to see what the other would do. He was not afraid and wasn’t going to stop whatever came out of this.

He would scratch at his cheek lightly. ‘’I’m not really going off the assumption that you cannot have a calm conversation in any way or form. More so off the fact that there is indeed always some chance that it will boil over on accident, which I don’t think can be denied. It’s purely a guess, but would I be wrong to think that the types of discussions we tend to end up at are exactly the ones that carry a fairly high risk of making you overly emotional about it?’’ After all, a lot of them were about touchy kinds of subjects, and heck, even about feelings in the first place. What better than that to inspire overreactive responses if any wrong step is made? The guy probably wouldn’t act that way if they were talking about something impersonal like physics or whatever. Or at the very least, not as easily as that. ‘’Regardless, I don’t know. I don’t particularly care about balance in itself. I just want a way for us to not have to follow up with some sort of damage control after every discussion or the like we have.’’ It’s not like it mattered whether they were 50/50 or any other combination when it came to talking and doing at the end of the day. The biggest red flag was the fact that all of them somehow seemed to require them going further and basically ‘discussing even about the discussions themselves’, or anything else that never ended even when it more than likely already should have. It wouldn’t save them to simply incorporate some more doing in lieu of balance, if they were going to circle around to later questioning those actions endlessly, thus rebounding to the same problem they had at the beginning.

He would give a faint shrug with one shoulder when the other commented on the dying conversation about real selves. There was nothing more to say at that point, and his only other answer could have been ‘yes’ anyway. Which would have ended the matter as well, seeing as the guy wasn’t showing any intent to keep prodding him about it afterwards.

‘’That’s something I’ll decide on later.’’ Cues could differ depending on the person. Even if they guy thought he was good enough at reading them in general, it did not directly translate into being equally good at reading cues that were specific to any individual person in question. After all, not everyone expressed themselves in the exact same way as every other person, so there could easily be discrepancies to be found. You could think you’re excellent, and then fail completely with one particular person simply because they were a bit too outside the norm. Anything can happen, right?

Also, eh? He would tilt his head at the guy, seemingly half amused, half incredulous. ‘’It’s dead already? I wasn’t even done yet….’’ How did the disappointment go so fast from being there, to being #RIP? Though, he could do with the silence if nothing else. Assuming that his response wouldn’t just make the guy keep talking and thus nulling the original statement entirely. Well, he would have to see which happened. Either way, he would take it as it went.

Besides, that wouldn’t last for long as they pretty swiftly progressed into strange actions and even stranger results. He would look off to the side briefly. ‘’Maybe. And maybe I also just don’t like to engage certain talks at times like these, for they can turn out to be very potent mood killers if done wrong.’’ It’s not to say that he was a coward in that area or such, but he couldn’t help feeling almost annoyingly awkward if he suddenly had to participate in those kinds of topics in detail while face to face and technically in the middle of something. Unless it was necessary, of course. Though maybe he was just a bit too high-strung over those matters, and didn’t do well due to not being 100% comfortable? It was hard to tell at times. His stance on these things was all over the place anyway. Or at least apparently so. Initially, his reaction to the touches was next to none, and in all honesty, there wasn’t a lot he could do there either way. He couldn’t relax or such even if he wanted to, because he had to keep holding himself up thanks to his current position, thus letting his muscles go limp wasn’t an option. Movement was also mildly complicated, as he couldn’t know what the guy would do next at any point in time, and things such as lifting one arm to do something could kill his balance/steadiness in the worst possible moments. Plus, there was the fact that it took him a while to process it in the first place. He would give a faint, noncommittal noise towards the question that followed when he caught onto it as he blinked due to the hands in his hair. He seemed somewhat indecisive of what he wanted, if nothing else. ‘’I’m not really sure. I just wanted to play. Do you have something in mind?’’, he would answer after a short moment as he furrowed his brows momentarily before deciding to reach one hand up and tug off the band holding his hair together. If the other wanted to be sticking his fingers there, it would be easier without obstacles in the way. On the other hand, his hair was pretty long and all, so it would now instead splay all over, some of it probably even tickling the guy underneath. Fun…

Though in all honesty, he had his reasons for preferring that the other made some sort of real choice. Sure, it wasn't like he didn't have some theoretical knowledge and all, but could the guy expect him to know what exactly he wanted when he had never done any of it before? That's like putting several types of food in front of someone that they haven't tried or maybe even seen before and flat out asking them which one they really wanted to to eat. While they could make a blind pick, it wouldn't necessarily be what they truly wanted, for they can't accurately decide that without being familiar with their choices at all. Loosely put, at least. Plans are sort of for naught if you have no solid idea on how good any of them could even be.

“No that is true,” the demon would say with as he scratched the back of his head a bit. There was a difference between just an average topic and one that was either personal or to close to the nerves. He wouldn’t deny the more touchy/personal things got the chances of him keeping his cool became a bit less. It was a snag for sure, but what to do about it? Hmmm...The demon would glance up at the other as he made his statement. “Hmm..me and you both, but honestly I think we are just gonna have to figure it out as we go ‘cause at this rate we’ll go in circles and that is not productive. Unless you count tiring or frustrating as productive.” The demon would give a small smile at the end of that the last sentence not meant to be taken seriously. No this whole matter of getting along and not snapping at each other was a work in progress after all, so he could only hope the more they got to know each other the better things would be.

That unresolved matter aside, the next topic would end more or less peaceful as the demon felt the other shift under him, but otherwise say nothing else casting them into a silence that the demon did not mind so much of as he remained leaned against the other content. If anything, the demon would move his arm slightly to rest it across his stomach. He was completely relaxed making the rest of the conversation more or less easy to respond to. To the comment about cues, the demon would lean back slightly to look up at the other with a raised eyebrow. Oho? He wasn’t going to just take his word on it? How amusing, but at the same appreciated. While to some this might’ve caused a bit of friction for the demon the resistance so to speak was a good thing and a sign that the other perhaps actually wanted to get to know him for real. Not that a person couldn’t describe themselves with words. One could, but still the answer given was better than the usual nod and accept method.

Speaking of nod and accept, if the other thought he was going to get silence well he wouldn’t as the demon met the look given with a playful smile. “Aww so sorry, love. Should we ask Lady Death to bring it back then?” It was all done in a joking matter. After all, disappointment just didn’t just vanish after all. It lingered and would linger no matter what he said, but even so the joke was more for himself and dealing with whatever disappointment there (if he had any) and lying it to rest more so than the others; however, it seemed some of the joke was lost, but that is okay. This was fine too.

Regardless the matter was peaceful until actions and such had gotten them elsewhere instead. As things took a different turn. As the demon remained under the other, he would chuckle lightly at the comment given. “Ah. Well, I suppose some topics can be saved for later. I can understand not wanting to break a mode with them.” Because in all honesty that could turn out bad. If everything good was killed by something else how could one enjoy being with said person and in turn grow with them? Constant breaking could result in displeasure and discontent and would not help in the relaxing department either.

Speaking of relaxing, it seemed that despite his efforts the other did not really respond to the touch. He kept rather still making Rika wonder if what he did was wrong or perhaps just not the right sort of touch for the other. Maybe there was something else there that made things the way they were. A bit disappointing, but not deeply. After all maybe he was a bit confused at what he actually wanted. That possibility was a thing; however, the demon would find his mind wandering elsewhere as he heard the noise and then a short while later had hair to deal with as the other let loose the usual pony.

The hair did tickle, which caused the quiet giggle as it brushed against him, but in the end the demon would calm as he content himself with gently running his hands through the other’s hair. “Hmm play huh?” he would ask as he played with few strands of the guys hair that was brushing against his chest. “Well that is a rather vague word isn’t? Since I can translate it to various things from this position. Though since you are asking for ideas, I could suggest one. It’s call explore and discover. Are you interested in such a game or did you have another thing in mind when you said play?” The demon’s eyes would drift back to the other to see what he would say. The demon would adapt either way.

Last edited by Rika on Sun Apr 02, 2017 9:45 am; edited 1 time in total

‘’Well, I’m not necessarily tired yet.’’, he would opt to comment simply, leaving the rest of the ‘conversation’ be what it was, unless the other saw it fit to say something more to it afterwards. There wasn’t a lot he could currently add anyway. Though, he did sort of mean what he said, since he was capable of talking for a long while without getting tired, and when it came to the frustration, it depended on how the talking was going. In this particular case, it was within acceptable levels, he’d say. It was mostly a dangerous frustration when those aforementioned blow outs started happening and messing everything up.

The exchanges that followed were too slowly dying down and withering into nothingness. He did notice the look he got in response to his refusal to simply take what was said as the ultimate truth, but wouldn’t say anything towards it. What could he? And if the demon had something specific to ask him in regards to that subject, he was certainly free to do so, therefore he didn’t think he needed to attempt dragging out the convo himself.

‘’…..maybe not. I’d rather not owe the grim reaper.’’ Aside from the fact that none of that was possible in reality anyway. Not that he had an idea how to keep going with the joke even further as is. Pretending to go along and do resurrections wasn’t very funny, so might as well take a different route there. At the end of the day, they were technically not talking about anything important or meaningful anymore though, so whatever goes?

And guess that approach wouldn’t be the best one for what was happening next. Or it didn’t appear to be at the first glance, as they were still caught up in defining what it is they were even doing. Which was actually a good question, cause he only had half an idea there. This indeed happened, but it was a bit of an odd business considering the early stage of their relationship as well as the fact that none of it was something they probably expected to be doing today. And he didn’t really want to make the guy assume they had to do something here just because of how it all panned out so far. He could be more forceful in some situations, but unless he knew he had an all clear at any time he wanted, he’d rather be sure the other side was truly in the boat of wanting to do stuff. Rather than going along for the sake of not crashing things. ‘’Some talk can be okay. I just don’t want it to spiral places and make the situation too awkward.’’ Because some topics definitely could if steered too far in certain ways. That, and there are just some things that one simply shouldn’t ask/bring up at times like these. Right now, it was even less smooth and gracious to begin with, due to the nature of how it happened and all.

In regards to responses…well, were he to think about it, he would have to wonder just what did the guy want of him. Even if he had chosen to relax and dropped himself onto the other or such, was there anything else he was supposed to do? He just….wasn’t super reactive when it came to this type of stuff, and much less so when it was only simple touches he had to deal with. If he didn’t like it/didn’t want to deal with it, he would have told the guy to stop or tried to get away from it, so it wasn’t as if he had an issue with it or didn’t enjoy it at all. He just wasn’t about to turn into an overjoyed puppy or make some exaggerated reactions to it. Not unless what was happening made him feel that way in the first place. And well, if this was about him not making any moves in return….that was something the guy would just have to wait for at first. They did seem to have stuff to settle on first after all.

He would blink down at the guy, watching while he tried to ignore the fact that his hair was kind of tickling even him when the guy made it move about with his hands. ‘’It is meant to be. Besides, your suggestion too could be taken a few ways, depending on how one chooses to interpret those words. That said, I’ll take anything. My stance wasn’t specific because I didn’t have anything exact in mind. I’m letting you pick.’’ He would like to think he’d be more or less okay with any option, and if the guy came with something really crazy, then he’d deal with it then. It’s not like they could narrow things down completely beforehand anyway, even if they tried to.

“Hmhm. I am sure aren’t,” the demon would say with an amused smile. To be honest he wasn’t tired himself; however, if he was to make a bet on who would last longer in a conversation pecking at one subject then he bet the taller male could outlast him. He could have extended conversations alright, but he had his limits in that department, but that shouldn’t be a problem as long as the other side respected that and knew when to back off and give him some space to breathe a bit. He wasn’t for shutting things down, but even so he wasn’t for being pressured and having it in his face when it wasn’t a good idea for that to happen. Nothing beneficial came out of the conversation if he just remained high strung and not seeing clearly.

Well that aside it would seem that they would move into silences and quiet looks. To the whole ultimate truth and acceptance matter, the demon and the human would indeed have a quiet stare off the demon watching the other first with amusement and then with a thoughtful observation. It was true that he could’ve spoken out on the matter, but why do that when this was okay too? Besides Sharaku wasn’t questioning him for the moment, so perhaps it was alright to let this flow the way it was. Either way the demon didn’t try to push the matter forward for now as he remained quiet and content in the other’s lap.

Even when the other took an odd path to the joke, the demon was accepting of it as he closed his eyes a bit and let out a light hum. “You’re a smart human.” The words were soft and spoken in a light fashion before becoming quiet again and resting for the time span that was allowed before the whole poking biting thing came about.

Despite positioning the demon was rather calm as he continued to toy with the other’s now loose hair, his eyes observing the other before him with an easy gaze that took in the details. Red orbs would meet hazel ones as the other spoke on the matter of conversations and the places they go. “Well, I don’t prevent that always, but I suppose there is a time and place for it all also. I would have to agree that destroying a mood with chat is not wise.” Honestly if anyone needed proof of that, then clearly they needed to rewind time a bit to see just how bad of an idea this was. Regardless of that, Rika mind wouldn’t linger there for long as he heard the other words spoken.

"Hmph. Coming at me with no plan in mind? Honestly, I’d be quite disappointed with such a tactic from anyone else; however, you somehow make loose plans interesting and a bit dangerous. As for my words, I was leaving it open to you too. After all, I can't play the game alone now can I?" the demon would give the other a smirk. “As for choosing,” the demon would pause as he shifted slightly under the other so he could prop himself up slightly with one arm as he gently tried to move the other’s head down a bit to meet him halfway. Provided Rika didn’t get get resistance, the demon would plant a kiss on the other’s lips for a few moments before pulling back the slightest bit as he gave the other a smile.“As I stated before explore and discover,” he would whisper and then leave it in the other’s ball park to do something if he wanted.